Blackness
by neppy
Summary: COMPLETE! Emi Black returns to the Wizarding World to finally go to school. starts in year three! Part AU I guess... (has been edited several times now.:-P
1. Escape from Torture

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use them without permission

Author's Note Edited: This beginning is a little different than the old one. For one thing, I started it from her point of view when she is older. What's is going on? Ha. You won't know for a long time. Each year, I'll start like this, giving more and more information about the future. It's only about 1550 words : The other chapters are 2000 or more. 2000 is my word quota. I tried to extend this but it just didn't work very well so I decided to just leave it.

**Chapter 1: Escape from "Torture"**

_Sometimes, living my life can be a total lie. I lie about my dad to people. I lie about my family. I lie about my feelings. I lie about a lot of things. My life has had so many sick and ironic things happen in it that it isn't even funny anymore. _

_I took most of it in good stride, ignoring the bad times and soaking in the good. Like I was some weird type of sponge. The things I've seen, the things I've done, and the things I've heard or have said... The horrors that have befallen in my life. _

I sighed and closed my diary. I looked up into the mirror and gazed at my 22 year-old self; my black hair fell down to a little past my shoulders and my blue eyes shined sharply. Tomorrow was my wedding day and I was nervous and excited at the same time. I never thought I'd meet anyone quite like this man. Smiling I got to my feet. I had work to get done.

I walked down the halls of the school, thinking about my first time being here, and how I got there. It was a memory that seemed to be pounded into my head and I wasn't going to forget it any time soon.

I was almost 13, when that fateful day came upon me. My birthday was nearing in only about a week and a half. But I was never really hip on the ideas of birthdays. One time my aunt gave me a dead gerbil to teach me birthdays are worthless, just another day in the year. I cried in my room for the rest of the day. But that's history, but so is everything else about my past.

o.O

"Are you in there causing trouble, Emily?" I heard my aunt yell through my almost broken door. She bursts in almost every day, by pounding or kicking it open. It was about to be ripped off its hinges now. I just shrugged her off and continued to read my book. 'What's the use? She comes in anyway.' "Emily! Answer me, you wench!" She began pounding on my door, louder and louder the noise got until I just couldn't stand it any longer.

"YES! I'M IN HERE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, slamming my book shut.

"Don't you dare talk to me in that tone!" She kicked the door open so hard that I think it actually broke for once. 'About time it did that,' I thought. My evil aunt glared down at me and the smile fell off my face, like Jell-O on a wall. "You hear me, girl?"

"Yes Madame," I replied dryly, trying hard not to roll my eyes. Apparently I'm all ready in trouble and I did not need to add to it.

"You better watch it or I'll-"

"What? You'll tell my father? Ha," I cut her off.

"Your father was a-"

"A cheating liar that should have never knocked up my mum?" Mildred glared.

"He was no better than your unfaithful mother!"

"Well, at least my mum was a proper witch!" She scowled, and her face crinkled up like she was some kind of monkey. I couldn't help but laugh. But I was shut up quickly by a loud, firm slap across my face. Her long nails dug into my skin, releasing blood. I lifted my fingers and wiped my cheek. I stared at my hand, where blood was smeared and narrowed my eyes.

"That'll surely leave a mark," she sneered at me, mocking me with her cold-hearted eyes. I couldn't believe she just said that!

"You bitch! Get out of my room! NOW!" I stood up some, my face red with anger. This was the last time! I wasn't going to take it anymore! I am a human being and I don't deserve to be treated like I am some kind of animal. In response to my outburst, she just hit me again, on the other side, this time harder so tears rolled down my red cheeks. I slumped onto my bed again.

"You're such a wimp." The tears rolled more freely down my face and I let my temper go, yelling random curses and names at her. She stood in my doorway smiling; clearly she was amused. When she went to open her large, overused mouth to say something, I screamed some kind of spell or something because the next thing I knew she was unconscious from a lamp being thrown at her head. Blood trickled down her forehead from the impact spot and soaked into the carpet. I sat there, dumbfounded, not able to move, too scared to speak. The clock on the wall was the only sound I could hear, my own breathing was shallow. 'Is she dead?' I thought over and over again. I just couldn't shake off the shock.

It was nearly dusk, when I finally realized that she wasn't waking up anytime soon. I packed some of my belongings in a small book-bag and grabbed a thin blanket and pillow, last but not least my Hogwarts letter. I closed the door behind me, stuffing the letter in the inside pocket of my jacket. I wasn't going to stay here another year. She has kept me away from my real life for too long.

My nosy neighbors watched me closely as I sprinted down the street towards the bus station. People were just getting home from their jobs. Their glaring eyes were full of disgust and their noses crinkled up like I smelled like rotten eggs. I stopped at the small station. It was just a clear, plastic, rectangular box, with one side missing and a wooden bench. No one was there, so I threw my stuff down on the bench and started to pace, waiting for the transport.

"Emily Black!" I heard a middle-age female voice call from behind. I turned slowly, half-expecting to be pulled away by my ear, half-expecting to be slapped again. I automatically touched my neck, where a tiny scar was. It was sort of a habit, a second nature. I was surprised to meet the gaze of a tall skinny woman, with fair hair up in a tight bun and old people glasses. She bared emerald green robes and a matching hat. Her eyes were sternly looking down at me and my heart stopped pumping.

"Ye. . .Yes?" I mumbled. I slowly brought my arms back to my side, and tried not to run.

"I'm Professor McGonagall. I've come to escort you to Hogwarts," she told me.

"Escort me?" I asked, but she continued on, apparently not taking notice of my question.

"Professor Dumbledore has waited ages to meet you. Why haven't you been at school?"

"Huh?" Professor Dumbledore? The Headmaster? I was so confused at this point. Was she actually from Hogwarts or was this a trick being pulled on me?

"You did get your letter, right?" I nodded slowly, and pulled it out of my blue jacket. My hands were shaking as I held it out to her. She took it gracefully and read it with ease. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"What do you mean?" Her expression tightened a little.

"I mean, why are you running away?"

"Well, I...I was... You see-" I couldn't seem to find the words. It was like they refused to come out of my throat. My mind raced and my heart pumped fast. Suddenly I felt faint, the world began to spin, and my head throbbed. My stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster. I squinted my eyes in pain, wrapping my arms around my belly.

"Emily? Emily, are you OK?" I heard her cry out, catching the attention of the others at the stop. That's really the last thing I remembered from that night.

o.O

I awoke in a large room that smelled of stale peppermints. Windows were on three of the four walls, and there were two doors, one I'm guessing to the bathroom and the other must lead outside. There was a fresh vase of daisies on the nightstand next to me with a note attached.

_Dear Emily,  
Hogwarts is delighted to have you attending this year. We told that nasty Aunt Mildred of yours where you are and that she shouldn't expect you to come home until the summer. We have given you more than enough money to pay for your supplies. The room is paid for till you come to Hogwarts. Have fun and explore. See you September 1st. Remember, 11 o'clock sharp, platform 9 and three quarters.  
Sincerely,  
Professor Dumbledore.  
Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _

"Wait what?" I asked myself out loud, obviously confused. I could hear the clanking of glasses and tons of voices below me. I threw the covers off myself in a hurry and ran into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, I saw a worn version of my 12 year-old self. There were bags under my eyes and my face was paler than usual. The marks from my Aunt's nails were still there, no longer bleeding. I showered quickly. I dressed myself from the pile of clean clothes that was on the sink, and traveled down the stairs to see my fate.


	2. Surprises

**Chapter 2 -Surprises**

Downstairs seemed sort of like a coffee shop. All sorts of people rushed in and out both sides Different color robes were about, some hurt your eyes; some just hid the wearer in darkness. A particular one stood out. He looked like a quiet, little man in a plain beat up robe with patches here and there, and his brown hair all a mess. Next to him was a suitcase; I squinted to see the print on it. "_Professor R. J. Lupin"? Professor?_ I felt like I knew him from some place.

"Oh, yer awake now," said a ruff, low voice that came from beside me. "Been waitin' for hours."

I took my eyes off Lupin and turned my head to the right to see a huge, bearded man standing about seven feet tall. I suddenly felt like a midget.

"Oh…" I had nothing to say except for, "Where am I?"

"Where ar' yeh?" he said, sounding as if I had insulted him. "Yer at ta Leaky Cauldron." I stared at him blankly, hoping he'd pick up that I needed more information than that. He sighed deeply. "Yer tellin' me that yeh 'ave no clue about the wizardin' world?"

"Uhhh… yeah. Well, I know some things. . .," I said quietly, rubbing my scar again. There was an eruption of laughter from a table located behind me. Taking a deep breath, I tried to ignore them and continue my conversation with the "person".

"I'm Hagrid, gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Yeh'll be seein' me throughout the school all year 'ong."

"I'm…"

"I bloody know who ye are!" He gave me a slap on the back; I stumbled forward a little from the force. "Oh sorry 'here." I just pretended to smile. "Well, com'on then! We best be gettin' yer shoppin' done now."

He turned and walked out a back door. Outside was a brick wall and a metal trash can. Watching closely, I saw Hagrid remove an umbrella from inside his coat and count some of the bricks. When he found the one he wanted, a simple tap from the tip of the umbrella caused the wall to spread apart. I looked on, dazed. I've never seen something like this occur before.

Hagrid coughed. "Yeh nev'r saw tha'," he told me, winking. Being already extremely confused, I just nodded. "This –" He pointed to the busy street on the other side of the bricks. " –is Diagon Alley. All yer shoppin' needs will be 'ere."

I took a stop toward it and ended getting pushed into by the groundskeeper. Hagrid told me stories about his umbrella and the headmaster of Hogwarts –Professor Dumbledore. All he really had to say altogether was how great of a man Dumbledore, and that no one in their right mind should go against him.

In Diagon Alley there were stores full of candy, others full of a books and games. After we were done shopping for my school supplies, we returned to The Leaky Cauldron. I was still confused, we were moving so fast down the streets that I hadn't really gotten to memorize where places were. Hagrid walked up to the bar and said something to the toothless bartender. He nodded and came out from behind the bar and led us to the back part of the coffee shop.

We sat down in a small booth, and were served hot chocolate. All of a sudden Hagrid's expression fell from joyful too serious.

"Emi, I need to talk to yeh about yer father." I remained quiet and he went on. "He escaped from Azkaban the other day." My eyes seemed to bug out as I was hit with the news.

"What!" I cried, jumping to my feet. I couldn't believe it! No one had ever done that before! It was said to be impossible.

"Calm down." He waited until I was seated again. "They have a theory that he is after 'Arry Potter."

"Why, Harry? You know just as well as I do that my father had nothing to do with the Potter's deaths. You even knew him personally." I sighed heavily, and slid down the uncomfortable seat partly.

"Oh come on Emily! How 'any people are goin' to believe a 12 year ol' girl about Sirius Black!"

"I would!" I screamed. Usually these kinds of things don't bother me, I mean people not believing me. I even get picked on in school about how my father is a mass murderer, and stuff. And that whatever caused him to go crazy like that is genetic. But this time it was different . . . I hit my fist against the wooden table. Hagrid went to say something, but I put my hand up as a ploy to shut him up. "I'm going to bed." I left the private box and quickly raced up the narrow stairs to my peaceful room number 5.

Plopping down on the freshly made bed, the scent of fresh flowers and cookies flooded my senses. I breathed in the gentle scent, trying to escape the thought of my father. How did he escape the most guarded prison in the World? And why would he go after Harry Potter?

There wasn't any chance of me getting any sleep later that night. There were still voices coming from the bar downstairs. I covered my head with my pillow and shut my sore eyes tightly. _It's useless._ I thought to myself. Sitting up in bed, I grabbed the new spell book for the year –_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Three._ 'Grade 3? I'm not even grade one!' After about 10 minutes of trying to understand it, I put it away in aggravation. My mind wasn't in the condition to read at the moment.

I looked to the window; the cool air covered the glass, making impossible to see out. All feelings seemed to be bottled up inside and I was ready to burst, but there was no way I could express them. Feeling the need to cry, I let my strong guard down and pushed a drop out of my eye. In second, the warm tears covered my cheeks, wishing there was a mother there to hold me.

_I still don't understand how, nor why she was killed… _I thought to myself, resting my head on the foggy glass. It was truly mind-boggling. And just then it was like a bus hit me; everything seemed to make perfect sense. Potter pissed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named off and he sent someone to set up my father, making it seem like he was the killer. They killed my mother so there'd be less people to say he is innocent . . . it's the only thing that makes sense to me. _Don't kid yourself Emi, nothing makes sense. Maybe your father really is a lunatic…_ I pressed my hand against the window, removing it to see the small imprint left. I wiped some more fog off with my sleeve and stared.

I don't remember falling asleep; I'm guessing I was too tired to care what was happening. Clamor was louder from downstairs, the clanging of glasses, and the bell of the door ringing constantly. "Erg! This is like the nightmare that won't end!" I bellowed. There was a new outfit for me lying exactly where it was yesterday, but this time the ensemble included a new, black robe. Feeling important I quickly washed and dressed, thinking I would try and have fun before I was shipped off to a boarding school in a world that I knew almost nothing about.

--

I heard a high-pitched, rather annoying male laugh loudly from a table near the back when I entered the room. I chose to forget that he might have directed it at me, sat down, and order some tea. There was a squeak of some chairs, and I heard a pair of footsteps walk towards me. _Oh my god…_ I thought to myself, already believing it to be bad before anything happened. _Lucky me._ I turned to see who was approaching me. There stood a small, blond haired boy, sneering sneakily at me. He had an air of arrogance about him and his nose sort of pointed out a bit much for me. I rolled my eyes; I was so used to this.

"What do we have here?" he asked me obnoxiously, taking the empty seat next to me.

"Go away homofag," I said coldly.

"Ouch. You shouldn't be talking, mudblood."

"Oh, I'm so hurt. I think I'll go cry in a corner." He stared at me for a bit then decided to speak again.

"I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Good for you." _Make him go away!_

"You aren't very friendly."

"And you aren't very smart." I snickered at my comment. He seemed to let out a small growl.

"Haven't gotten my "small" hints Mr.… uh, was it Draco?" He smiled a little; it sent chills up my spine. His gray eyes met mine; they looked as if they were calling out for someone to help.

"You know what?"

"You're stupid?" I replied.

"You're kinda cute." Oh god.

"Ew. I think I'm going to go vomit now." I finished the last sip of my tea and got up.

"You can't escape me, you'll see me at Hogwarts."

"That's if I don't kill you in your sleep, Blondie." And with that I left, pushing out the back door.

--

_What the bloody hell is a Mudblood?_ I asked myself again and again, pushing through the huge crowd on Diagon Alley. The conversation with the Malfoy kid irked me, and I was quite sure why.

There were more and more people everyday and it was starting to get to the point that I didn't want to go outside. I don't like too many people around; it makes me feel all uneasy and panicky. I don't know why…

I was strolling, like I've done for the past couple days, trying to avoid big crowds. Nothing here really excites me, I know very little about this World, and I already have shopped myself out. I counted have much I have left. 15 Galleons, 36 Sickles, and about 4 Knuts. 'Great. Not much to go on.' Suddenly a small shop across from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor caught me eye. It seemed to be like a Muggle pet shop…but not. I got a little closer. The sign overhead read 'Magical Menagerie'. I decided that no harm would be done if I went in to check it out.

A little bell rang as door to the shop was opened. My first response when inside, was to cover my nose seeming how it smelled pretty rank. I thought better of it, and looked about. There were cages upon cages of anything you can image. Monkeys, cat, rats, toads, slugs, and uh… spiders. Shivers ran up and down my spine when my eyes set themselves on those cages. Who would want one as a pet? Never mind, I do not want to know.

"How may I help you?" A small looking woman asked me, walking around me and behind the messy counter.

"Uhhh… Well I'm starting school this year and I'm new to the Wizarding World. Can you tell which animal will be the most helpful?" I could feel heat rise up in my cheeks.

"The owls. That's the way wizards communicate. Follow me." She smiled, and began to walk towards the far back of the store. I followed her closely; scared something was going to jump out and attack me. "Here are all the owls we have. Take your pick." And she walked away to tend to other customers. There were all sorts of types. Barn, snowy, hoot, spotted, eagle, I could go on forever. The very bottom cage to my right, there was a small fragile looking one. The tag next to it said "Elf Owl". It had sleek looking black feathers spotted with specks of white and gray. Its huge yellow eyes looked up and met mine. I wanted that one. The owl started to hoot as I went and got the store clerk so she could get her out. We went back to the counter; my new owl perched on my shoulder.

"How much?" I asked her, beginning to get nervous. Was I going to have enough?

"Let's see… for its size… It'll be about 10 Galleons… including the cage and stuff." I let out a sigh and handed her the money. She placed my new owl in shiny new chrome colored cage, and I left.

I breathed deep as my lungs filled with fresh air, and made my way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Upon reaching the room, I set my new pet on the nightstand, and laid on my stomach, looking at her.

"What should I call you?" I asked the animal out loud. It hooted quietly. "How about Fukuro?" She seemed to dislike the thought because she went all crazy. "Whoa, whoa… clam down. Kurai?" She tilted her head a bit, and let out a small whoop. "So, Kurai it is. Kurai Black."

Closing my eyes, I made up a depiction of what I thought Hogwarts would like. There were gloomy clouds, with lightning, and spooky noise –the generic haunted mansion. I must have fallen asleep after that, because next thing I was waking up. The skyline outside told me it was way past dusk. I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

_It's too early for my brain to be waking up!_ I thought. Suddenly, a loud crash came from the other side of the window. Nothing could be seen out of it so I decided to creep downstairs. Nearing the bottom of the staircase I could hear about 3 voices talking

"Blimey! Ern, come 'ere! Come 'ere!" I heard a thick accented boy cry out. He voice kind of hurt my eardrums…

I looked over the corner of the wall to witness a tall teenager in a bright purple suit. His acne was probably worse than the entire teenage population in Burlington alone. Next to him stood another boy, whose clothes hung off his body so loosely that he looked like a person on one of the diet pill commercials. Then my eyes widened as I glimpse his untidy hair, the green eyes. My gaze traveled to his forehead and I saw a think outline of a lightning bolt. I couldn't believe it: it was Harry Potter! I may be new to the actual Wizarding world, but I knew the stories of this young boy. He was the one who pushed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named out of power. And there was a short fat man, wearing a hideous pair of green pants and a striped coat. My aunt's fashion was better than his.

"What didja call Neville, Minister?" The tall kid asked, eager for the answer.

"Neville? This is Harry Potter," the fat guy replied.

"I knew it! Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo Neville is, Ern! 'E's 'Arry Potter! I can see 'is scar!"

"Yes… well, I'm very glad the Knight Bus picked Harry up, but he and I need to step inside the Leaky Cauldron now…" Harry and the fat man walked back into the coffee shop. After a couple of moments, I quickly carried myself up the stairs, and closed the door to the room. I sat with my back against the wooden door, half asleep, wanting to lie down in bed, the other half wide awake, wanting to know if Harry Potter was going to stay here. Not to long after I made my way up, I heard slow footsteps come up the staircase. The noise went past me and faded down the hallway.


	3. The Gift

**Chapter 3: The Gift**

When I went downstairs the next morning, everyone was talking about Harry's mistake at his Aunt and Uncle's. Apparently, he accidentally blew up his Aunt Marge… Heh. I sat down and asked for a muffin and some light coffee. Tom, the owner gladly gave me the meal, free of charge. The whole place went to a low whisper when Potter walked into the room. He still wore clothes that looked too big and his hair was untidy, like he never brushed it. It seemed to make him tense up knowing that everybody was watching him… talking about him. I kind of knew how he felt. He took the empty seat next to me, and put his forehead on the counter.

"I take it you're a little tired," I said jokingly, keeping my voice low so no one but him would hear.

He lifted his head a bit and looked intently at me. Our eyes meshed, his sharp emerald gaze seemed like he was judging me. I looked away, beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Just a bit," he said. I felt relieved that he even replied; I was beginning to feel stupid.

"I'm Emi Bl-" I stopped and decided that saying my last name to him probably wouldn't be the best thing. "My name is Emi." I tried to recover, biting my lip I waited.

"I'm sure you know who I am," he laughed.

"Actually…" I smiled.

"Oh in that case…" he said wryly. "I'm Harry." He extended his hand to me and I shook it casually. We laughed a minute.

"Well. I got to get going. It was nice, um, "meeting" you Harry." I giggled and ran up to the room.

_That's it Emi, make a totally fool out of yourself…_ I thought, splashing warm water on my face. _Wake up. That wasn't you._ I looked up into the mirror and shook my head, seeing the worn person across from me. It's not the same… _Nothing here is you._

--

I caught Malfoy looking at me again. Everywhere I went he seemed to be there. It's kind of weird… He was a total jerk to everyone else, but a real sweet heart to me. Always trying to talk, or buy me things if he couldn't talk, which I gave back and told him to "Sod off." He gives off this loving vibe, though I know I should ignore it.

"Malfoy, what do you want?" I asked him, removing the book blocking his head.

I was in the bookstore, when I noticed a figure moving at the same speed behind the shelf I was looking at.

"Oh. Nothing I was just picking out a book for when I go back to school," he replied.

"Are you trying to come off as a idiot?"

"Because I read that makes me an idiot? Wow real mature there." I sighed and walked to the end of the bookshelf, of course Draco followed.

"You never quit do you?"

"I just wanna know why I'm an idiot?"

He was right and I went blank. Nothing I could have said could have helped me there. I was like a fish out of water. My cheeks went red as the blood rushed to my brain. He took a step closer; I stumbled back onto the end. I could feel his breath on my face now, making my stomach flutter. For some reason, there was proverbial sparks flying between us, and it made my body feel electric.

"I'm waiting Black." At those words, something clicked in my brain. _He knows who my father is…_ My eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as I tried to recollect myself.

"How…" Nope… Not recollecting…

"I have my ways." I know I should have felt violated… I kind of was.

"And your point is?"

"Humph." Humph? That was it.

"My birthday is today."

This is true. Today I turn 13, August 15th. He put his hand against the wall, right above my shoulder and stared at my face. How was I supposed to resist him? I leaned in some and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. He startled back like I had done minutes before, mouth hanging open.

"Wha?"

"I needed some way to celebrate," I said smirking. I walked over to him and helped him close it with my hand. "You better close that before you catch flies."

My fingers lingered for a moment before I turned around and left the shop. Some of the girls around giggled as his eyes followed me out of the store. My knees felt weak- they were like jell-o. What had I just done? I had just made a fool of myself that's what. Never in my life have I been so embarrassed, or promiscuous.

"Blackie wait!" I heard Draco call back to me. I kept walking. I didn't want to face him again, at least not now… on the crowed street. "I said wait!"

"What!" I yelled, turning around to face him again.

"I just wanted to tell you… uhhh…"

"Spit it out I have places to be." He leaned in, like I had done to him and returned my kiss. I was a statue. Nothing in the world was going to make me move then. Everyone had seen that! **Everyone!** Oh, man, how humiliating.

"Happy Birthday." Then it was like he disappeared. The crowd pushed in between us, separating us. Yeah… Happy birthday to me…

--

Harry and I hung out. I watched him do his homework and listened while he explained some of it, as we kept getting free sundaes at the ice cream parlor. He went to the Quidditch supplies store a lot, and explained the game to me. I found it fascinating. The whole concept of playing games on flying broomsticks seemed like some kind of fairytale… though this whole week seemed to be one too. He told me about him being the youngest seeker in under a century, and about his Nimbus Two Thousand. The Firebolt in the window seemed to glow, grabbing the attention of everyone that passes by, especially Harry's.

"I should've known Malfoy would pay the Slytherins to get on the team," he said eyeing the Nimbus Two Thousand and One in the corner.

"Yeah. He seems like a total jerk," I complained. "I never want to know him."

My stomach did turns every time we mentioned Malfoy. I should have changed the subject, but no, I was stupid and I **had** to continue with it. But I have to say- anything about Draco intrigued me.

"He is. There's no one on this Earth that I hate more. I like the Dursley's more than Draco."

"Hmmm… Actually I'd rather have Draco instead of my aunt." He gave me a weird look and we pushed the door of the shop open. "Well, of course going off of what you've told me. He's probably jealous that you're better than him." Of course Malfoy was walking past us with a snooty looking woman. He shot me a weak smile then a death glare at Harry. I sighed with defeat. _This is crazy._

One day we were deciding where we should go eat lunch… of course we had to stop by the Quidditch shop first.

"Harry! HARRY!" We drew our eyes off the broomstick to see two of Harry friends sitting at Florean Fortescue's. They were waving at him and smiling. One was a boy with flaming red hair and lots and lots of freckles. And the other was a young girl with long curly brown hair and tan. Suddenly I felt anti-social. No more people… please!

"Uhhh. Harry I think I'm just going to go back to my room." He looked puzzled.

"Why Emi?"

"I'm very tired." The truth is, I just didn't want to meet any more people. Yeah, his two friends are probably really nice, but I hate people looking at me like I have two heads. "I'll see you tomorrow on the Hogwarts Express! And if not, I'll see you at the feast!" I yelled as I walked in the direction of The Leaky Cauldron. When I looked back he wasn't there where I left him. Breaking into a run, I let my head swim with thoughts of alone time, muttering, "Excuse me" and "Sorry" the whole time while bumping into people.

"What can I get you Miss Black?" Tom asked me walking up to the counter wiping a glass. I climbed onto the tall bar stool and replied dryly.

"A new family origin," I said into my hands. He turned around and poured a cup of coco and placed it in front of me.

"On the house," he told me when I reached for my pocket. "Are you that scared about what people are going to think of you?" Tom gave a quizzical look.

"Not really. I usually ignore it, but now with him on the loose- People are most likely to think I had something to do with his escape."

"Now, how could an inexperienced witch like yourself help someone break out of Azkaban?" I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my hot chocolate, finishing it off, wondering if I should take offense to what he just said.

"People can be pretty stupid at times." I looked around. Not many inhabitants were here today. Then someone caught my eye. It was that guy from the other day, but this time he was looking straight at me. I narrowed my eyes to see if the same inscription was on the tattered briefcase. Professor R. J. Lupin. _The name sounds familiar, but from where?_ I thought again.

"Another one Black?" I shook my head no and slid off the stool. I made my ways towards him, but it was him who initiated conversation.

"Emily Black?" he questioned me with great intensity, like I was a bomb that would explode at any minute. His eyes darted around the room, as if he was were searching for something other than me.

"How did you know?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He took a seat in a booth and motioned for me to the same. "No thanks. I like standing better."

"You look just like your mother did when she was your age," he commented, grinning slightly. I just kept my mouth shut. "OK. I'm guessing you want to know who I am?" Did I? "I'm-"

"Professor R. J. Lupin," I interrupted. "I know who you are... it's written on your bag." I pointed to the bag. My feeble attempt to anger him wasn't working.

"You certainly have the wit of you father. I can't deny that."

"How do you know my parents?" I couldn't tell where this was leading. Actually I was a little freaked out. I haven't talked to many people who were so calm about speaking about my parents.

"I went to school with them. Both were Gryffindors, very good friends to the Potters. But perhaps you already know that."

"Of course. Who doesn't?" I made my voice low on the last part, hoping he didn't hear it. "I do wish you would sit."

"Why does me sitting down have to be so important? Last time I was told to sit down I was informed that my father had escaped, and look what that brought me?" I sat across from him and placed my hands on the table. "What do you want?"

"To let you know who I am," he stated. I stared at him, dumbfounded. What? Why?

"Er- Why?"

"I was a good friend of James Potter too." Good god. Don't "friends" of James Potter ever go away? I'm tired of people trying to confront me by using his death as an excuse.

"So? There are many people out there that claim that very same thing."

"And of your father," he continued.

"What?"

"We all were in the same group of friends."

"And that's what you wanted to tell me? That you know my father? Oh gee thanks." I got up and began walking towards the stairs but something stopped me. This guy could be the key to my past... my mother's death. I turned and went back to where he was sitting.

"Back so soon?" he asked, with a twinkle in his hazel eyes.

"How much do you know of my mother?" I took my seat again.

"You mum? Oh, your mother and Lily were easily the two most beautiful girls in the school. Well, next to Cara Rushvish," he said the last bit a little quieter, but the twinkle remained.

"I've heard that before." Rolling my eyes, blah blah blah.

"OK. She was never married to Sirius; they pretended to have a false marriage because of the birth of their first child, Alexzandyr. I presume you also knew that too." His face looked a little sad with the mention of my brother, the gleam in his eyes wasn't there anymore.

"My Aunt used to called my dad a "good-for-nothing-liar" and that my mother wasn't any better. So, to some extent I did. I just want to know how she died." He held his breath for a moment, his eyes staying plain.

"Have you ever heard of the "dark mark"?"

"No."

"It's a spell that formulates in the shape of a skull with snake coming out of it's mouth, that followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named used to cast it above houses of those they killed. It's fear throughout the entire Magic World. No one ever wants to see it again."

"OK." I was beginning to get bored, if he didn't start telling me information I wanted to actually hear, I'd leave again.

"Well, the night your father was sentenced to life in Azkaban, that mark appeared over your mother's house. She refused to go to trial because she didn't want to see Sirius like he was… in chains and looking miserable. The court wasn't going to make her take the stands if she didn't want to. I was on my way to see- er -check on her to see if she was alright and tell her the grave news when I saw it- the mark"

He drew in another breath again, and cracked his knuckles. The sound made me flinch a little. "I went inside and I saw Annie, your mother, lying on the floor. But the amazing thing is you and your brother were unharmed." He face looked paler than Malfoy's, like all the blood was suddenly drawn out of his face. "Except for a small cut on your neck."

"My neck?" I subconsciously rubbed the fading scar on my neck.

"Yes. All though I do not feel it is for the same reason Mr. Potter has his."

"Are you saying I did it to myself?" I demanded. "I was only a year old!"

"No, no, no. Calm down. Your brother has one just like it. Don't worry. I think it was the Death Eater's way of telling us you two were mortal. Maybe to make up for the fact Harry Potter lived." I closed my eyes tight and opened them again hoping this would be a dream. Harry Potter is The-Boy-Who-Lived and I… well I was The-Girl-Who-Didn't-Care.

"But why would they kill her?" I questioned, realizing I was still seated in the booth and was fully awake.

"To tell the truth, that is one of the questions I still ask myself. Why."

"You don't believe my father did it, do you?"

"What? Betray his friends, or murder 13 other people?"

"Any of it!"

"I'm not sure." Outrageous! How come everyone thought he was guilty! Lupin even went to school with him and thought he was!

"Didn't you trust him? I mean, believing for 12 years that one of your best friends is a Deatheater is kind of harsh…"

"I did trust him…"

"Then what changed?" I locked eyes with him for a second.

"Everything…"

"Well, I'm not sure if I should trust you. If you can't believe that your own friend is innocent how are you going to believe his daughter is?" I got up and left, this time not going back… without a glance.

I plopped down in a chair in my room and stared at the blank wall in front of me. Alexzandyr... I haven't seen him in almost seven years. My aunt had him sent away to some foster home in America. I shivered at the thought of him. I missed him, but something about him always bothered me...

--

"You ready kid?" The cab driver asked me as I closed the car door behind myself.

"Yeah." He looked back in the rearview mirror at my owl. She was flapping her wings rapidly and hooting, making it very hard to decipher what emotion she was telling us. He started the car and not much to later we were at King's Cross. I gave the cab driver the fee Dumbledore gave me and pulled the trunk on to a trolley. I got weird stares from passing people, but I decided to go with it. I don't suppose they saw a girl in black robes with an owl as a pet, everyday.

Searching for platforms nine and ten didn't take long but where was nine and three quarters. I stood there trying not to look too stupid, when I saw him, Draco Malfoy, and his parents, walking towards the very place I was standing. Not wanting to talk to him at the moment, I pulled my cart out of view and watched them carefully. They stopped at the pillar between 9 and 10, and moved sideways slowly until they hit the wall. Except they didn't hit the wall... they went right through it!

_Oh I get it!_ I pushed my trunk and bird over to where the Malfoy family was just standing and leaned on the wall. I fell straight through and looked around. It was like I was in an entirely different station! In front of me was a red train with the words "Hogwart's Express" writing across it. 'Amazing.'

I loaded my trunk on the train and found a good compartment and immediately went to find Draco.


	4. The Journey

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :(

A/N: Thanks to my reviewers. Smack and Sweets (even though she didn't review, grrrr). I've only read through this chapter once and I'm sure there are a ton of mistakes in it, but Sweets really wanted something new to read. Edited Noted Like 2550 words Yup. Combining these made a lot of sense to me... besides my attempt to make it longer. nods It did. And this is suppose to start funny :)

**Chapter 4: The Journey**

He stared at me, but not blinking. His normally gelled back blond hair fell from the firm hold. The shock that I actually came to see him I guess was a little too much because he stumbled onto his butt.

"I said "Hello"." His eyes were wide and his face paler than it usually is. "Earth to Draco." "What do you want?" he managed to say. I was offended! Why isn't he gravelling at my feet and drooling?

"To say hello. Haven't I established that already?" I smiled at him and extended my hand. It was that least I could so. When he took a hold of my hand it felt as if my body was on fire. I could feel my heart race faster and my cheeks turn bright red. My new appearance seemed to relax him a little.

"Sorry."

"Am I really that scary looking?" I giggled and looked into the compartment's mirror.

"Ah, not at all Black." He took a step towards me. The whole situations felt strangely familiar. Then, two shadows appeared on the floor, I turned to face the doorway. 'Ugh. Looks like they were beat with an ugly stick . . . maybe the whole tree!" I thought. "Crabbe, Goyle. How nice of you to finally come and talk to me." Draco said under his breath. The others weren't listening to him though; they were staring with glazed eyes at me.

"Want a picture? It'll last longer," I told them. Their eyes burned holes in my head, then my neck, and my… wait a minute. "Hey, I'm a bit farther up!" I pointed to my face; Draco cleared his throat and grabbed their attention.

"I think it's time to go see our celebrity," he sneered. I looked at him in amazement. I knew whom he was talking about. I knew almost everything he ever did to Harry, without his knowledge of course. The ugly-heads pushed backwards out of the compartment, letting Draco and I pass through and up the hallway. We came to a stop before a door at the very end of the train. "Well, look who it is," he said rather loudly. I gulped as I watched Malfoy throw open the door. Peering in from off to the side I saw 4 people. There was Harry, and those two friends from Diagon Alley . . . and Remus Lupin? He was the last person I wanted to see, good thing he is asleep. "Potty and the Weasel."

'He is going to get himself hurt badly one day . . .' I thought.

"I heard your father finally got his hands on some gold Weasley. Did your mother die of shock?" The redheaded boy got to his feet, face full of anger. He knocked a basket to the ground; I followed it as it hit Lupin's feet. Remus made a noise and moved a little. No real sign that he was actually awake though. Damn. Draco fell back some and pushed past me, exposing me more. Harry looked at me in amazement; I looked towards Lupin to avoid eye contact. "Who's that?" Malfoy asked, nudging his head towards the scrawny man.

"New teacher." Now Harry was on his feet too. Although, he was paying more attention to me, than Malfoy. "What were you saying, Malfoy?" Draco glanced at me then back at Harry.

"Have you met Emily Black, Potty?" He shoved me forward a little towards Harry and laughed.

"Black?" His eyes widened at the mention of my surname. I gave Malfoy a death glare and looked around the compartment. Everyone (except Lupin) was gazing at me!

"Your last name is Black?" Weasley wheezed. "You're a Black?" Ignoramus! I'm only using this name because it's fun!

"Yea," I said softly, not meeting eyes with anyone. Harry's expression fell from shock to anger.

"All this time! You've been on_ his_ side!" Harry yelled, pointing to Draco.

"Harry!" Whispered the puffy haired girl. She nodded towards Lupin and put her finger to her lips. I ignored her gestures. Let Lupin wake up for all I care.

"I haven't been on anyone side!" I screamed back. I didn't want to have this turn into a huge fight but I guess it's going to be inevitable. "How can you be so narrow minded!"

"Me? Narrow-minded? You lied to me!"

"How the bloody hell did I lie to you Harry? You never asked my last name, so I didn't give it! You spent so much time with me and still you'll turn like this? Just because I have the same last name as Sirius Black?" They all seemed cringe at the mentioning of my fathers name.

"You could have been spying!" Weasley bellowed.

"For who?"

"Stay out of this Ron!" Harry told him. "Emi?"

"Leave me alone Harry. I can see where your standards lie," I hissed. I gave Draco a good shove as I turned around. I made my way through the train to the empty compartment I had found earlier. Sitting down I placed my head in my hands and sighed. "That didn't go well," I said to myself.

I stared out the window for a while when I noticed the scenery was slowing down. 'Can we be there already?' I thought, sitting up more. Then the train stopped abruptly, causing me to slide off my seat and on to the floor. If like that wasn't enough, all the lights went out. A total blackout. Great. 'Like my day couldn't get any worse!'

At that thought my compartment door slammed open and a figure appeared. I couldn't make out whom it was; all I could see was the dark outline. The room grew cold; like the warmth was being sucked from my body. I felt faint, as if my life was draining from me, leaving me lifeless. I shut my eyes tight, and the room got colder. I could hear my aunts tone of voice screaming swear words at me, then telling me I'm useless, or claiming I'm going to hell. I wanted to cry out, to make the voices stop, but I was too scared too. I covered my ears and gritted my teeth. "_Emily! Emily, are you listening to me? Look at me when I'm talking to you! Stop crying! You're such a baby!_" "Stop it!" I yelled. The voice of my aunt went away. I opened my eyes; the compartment was still full of darkness and loud voices were coming from all directions. The coolness left just as soon as it came. I was confused and at the same time scared. There's nothing in the World I hate more then being alone in the dark. I'm not per-say afraid of it, but I'm not a fan. I think that's why people find irony in my name.

The lights came on and I looked around. Everything that was on my seat was now on the floor, like I was. I sighed in relief to see all my stuff was still there. Picking myself up off the floor I stuck my head out through the already opened door and looked around. It seemed like many other people had the same idea I had; actually it looked as if most had actually fallen out of their sections. I laughed at the morons. A quick jolt and the train was moving again. I closed the door and took out my potions book to read. 'I think I'd rather be caught up in the subject judging by Harry's encounters with the teacher.'

When we stopped again I stuffed all my stuff in a small bag I had carried with me and left. Outside it was pouring rain… more like pelting. The drops stung my skin as they hit, making me wince. 'My Aunt was right . . . I am a wimp.' I considered.

I followed the other students up a hill where it looked like millions of white carriages waited. The strange thing was that none of them had horses . . . Ignoring it, I climbed into one of them and waited. Three other people got in. There was a girl with long hair that looked blond in one light and brown in another and cloudy colored eyes that looked like she was up to something. The other two were boys, one had short brown hair and was tall, and very handsome, but he was holding the female's hand. The extra person had dark hair that reached past his ears a bit, his blue eyes looked into mine with a strange longing, but not the longing Draco had, a different one. Then his serious expression broke into a smile.

"Guys, maybe we should introduce ourselves to the newbie," he mentioned to the couple. They stopped fooling around and glanced at me. They, too, smiled.

"I'm Oliver Wood. 6th year Gryffindor," the shorthaired male told me.

"I'm Swe-" Oliver nudged her. "Fine. I'm Sarah Conlon. 5th year Slytherin." My first reaction was to growl. Slytherin. Ack. Then the last spoke up again, as Oliver and Sarah started to giggle.

"I'm Zandyr Glasgo. Slytherin. 5th year." He held out his hand and I shook it. "And who might you be, I've never seen you here before?" His voice was calm and gentle . . . and not very English.

"I'm Emi. I'm suppose to be a 3rd year but I'm not sure what's going to happen," I said.

"Why's that?"

"Well, technically this is my first year here."

"Ohhh. Well don't worry. Professor McGonagall will make sure everything is correct."

"I'm not worrying." I stared at him. He reminded me of my father when he was 15. Which came to give me a bright idea. He had blue eyes, black hair, the same name and an American accent . . . but he was a Slytherin. No... It couldn't be him... "So, do you have any siblings that go here?" I asked casually.

"Yeah, one," he replied.

"Who?"

"I'm looking at her." I was shocked. How'd he figure it to be me? There's nothing about me that's the same except for my eyes and name.

"You must be mistaken because my brother died when I was six." His eyebrows raised some.

"Oh, really? Is that what Aunt Mildred told you?" He was Zandyr!

"Zandyr!" I leap across the carriage and hugged him. It felt like ages . . . well it had been. "I've missed ya Smallpox!" he whispered to me. I could feel the carriage stop and Sarah and Wood, climbed out, leaving me with my brother. "Shall we?" We laughed and followed the lovebirds. I gasped at the size of Hogwarts. We walked into the large castle into what seemed like a hall. On the walls hung with pictures and floating candles flew overhead. There were two large marble staircases; across from them were giant wooden doors, which opened as soon as the first person reached.

"Potter! Black! Granger! I need to see you three!" I looked around and saw Harry and his friends watching a teacher move through the crowd towards them; I made my way over reluctantly. When I reached them, the three of them turned and gave me a look that could kill a yak from 20 yards away. I glanced at the teacher that called my name. It was the same teacher from the night I ran away from my Aunt! Her hair was still in the same tight bun and her glasses rested on the brow of her nose. "There's no reason to look so worried," She said to Harry and the girl, "I just want a word in my office. Move along Weasley." The redheaded boy continued to watch the three of us disappear up the staircase. I took a deep breath as I saw one of the small stairs move.

'Uhhh . . . is that suppose to happen?'

Walking into the office, I observed it was fairly small, but still bigger than my old room at my aunt's house. She motioned for us to sit down as she took her chair behind the maple desk. "Miss Black, we need to place you in a house." I nodded my head in agreement. "We will take care of that after the feast. For now please sit with the Gryffindors."

Granger shot me another look of hatred. 'Why does she hate me? I never did anything to her,' I thought.

"Now, Hermione and Emily will you please stand for a bit. I must perform a spell." I looked up at Granger whose eyes were still on mine.

"Yes Professor," she responded. I got up as Hermione did and we stood about a yard and half apart. Professor McGonagall got to her feet too and walked over to where we were standing.

"I need to transfer some of the past two years into Miss Black. It'll save us a lot of trouble." I saw Hermione open her mouth but McGonagall continued, "Hermione you are the brightest Gryffindor in the third year, is it OK if I use you?" She nodded, not taking her eyes away from mine. Professor took out her wand and placed it on Hermione's temple. "_Abalienare_." When she pulled away, a long silver thread hung from the end of it. Then she put it on my temple and I felt a warming sensation go through my whole body, then it turned into a burning one, as if I was on fire. Events flashed before my eyes; words, books, and people. The burning stopped and I was back in McGonagall's office. "There that's better," she told me. "Take your seats again. Now, Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead to say that you were taken ill on the train, Potter." As if on cue a short stubby looking women bustled into the office.

"I'm fine. I don't need anything," Harry told her, but she didn't seem to hear. McGonagall turned to me again, after she had taken her seat.

"Emily, you may go down to the feast if you wish, or you could stay here and walk down later with us." I pondered it for a bit.

"I think I'll just go to the feast Professor," I answered.

"OK then, do you think you can get back there?" Humph. Meanie.

"Yes, I think I'll be fine. Thank you Professor." She smiled at me and I made my way out the door. The pictures on the staircase wall watched me and whispered things to one another as I past them.

"I heard she's Sirius Black's kid."

"No, I heard she was a vampire." A vampire? Oh come on! I laughed to myself and walked into the Great Hall. The ceiling was a storming gray, and very cloudy. I remember that Hermione knew that it was enchanted to look like the sky outside. I took a seat at the end of the table of the Gryffindors and watched what I thought must be the sorting. Many of the table's occupants sent me looks like the one's Hermione and Harry were giving me in McGonagall's office. I shrugged them off and decided to stay quiet. Besides it would be very rude of me to bitch at them during the ceremony.

A/N: Edited Ummm... Yeah. The memory thing. It means that almost everything that happened to Hermione during the first and second years were placed into Emi, like she was there instead. It's pretty weird. I am aware the whole thing with Zandyr **was** kind of silly. Actually, I'm aware the whole chapter was kind of silly. shrugs Deal.


	5. Welcoming Feast

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: I threw this chapter together fairly quickly, not as quickly as the last two though. Happy Sweets? Lol. I have no clue have long I'm going to be able to keep popping chappies out like this. Edited Note Popping out chappies? Lmao. That's a little disturbing. grins Oh well.

**Chapter 5 - Welcoming Feast**

I watched the sorting quietly, thinking about how nerve racking it must be to go up and do that in front of the whole school. I could never do it. A small teacher came out and took away the hat and the stool just as Harry and Hermione came in with McGonagall. People around the hall whispered and pointed at them as they took their seats by Weasley. Everyone shut up though when a very old looking man stood up. All eyes were on him. He had long silvery looking hair with glasses shaped like half moons. I recognized him from Hermione's memories as Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster. I personally thought he looked scary.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it's best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast . . ." He cleared his throat. 'I really don't like where this is leading . . .'

"As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises- or even Invisibility Cloaks. It's not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and everyone one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and the new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors." I hated this. Dementors? Is that what that thing on the train was? That creature was horrible!

"On a happier note," he continued. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Oh goody. That nut case is going to be around all year. This day isn't going so good. "As to our second new appointment. Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs.

"However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his game keeping duties." I clapped like everyone else in the hall to show my respect but I didn't think he was apt to make a good teacher . . . Weasley pounded the table and yelled something. I didn't make it out nor did I care too. "Well, I think that's everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

The plate in front of me was magically covered with all types of food. Chicken, beef, corn, pudding, etc . . . I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I can't remember the last time I had a choice to eat this much. I pushed my plate away and took a hold of my goblet. After a few slips I felt even sicker. I don't know why but I wasn't hungry and whatever the drink was made it worse. Then I heard a voice from behind me.

"Blackie." Great. What the hell does Blondie want? I threw my legs over the bench and turn to face the boy.

"And what can I do for you, mister Malfoy?" I asked innocently. People at the table were watching, waiting for something exciting to happen.

"Have you been sorted yet?" What? Why the hell did he want to know? We weren't even to school yet when he ruined my reputation with everyone.

"Why the hell do you care?" I said sternly.

"Why are you so hostile towards me all of a sudden?" he yelled. I could hear almost everyone quiet down to listen to us argue.

"Why? Oh you want to know bloody why?" He nodded and looked around. I could see he was going to ask me to talk softer but I continued on. "Not only did you just ruin a friendship with three people before it had a chance to really begin, but look around, use your eyes, I haven't been able to go anywhere without getting a dirty looks from anyone!"

"Well, they were going to know eventually, Black!" Now my own name made me cringe like it made everyone else do. When he says it like that it does make me seem evil. If anyone wasn't listening before, they surely were now. All eyes were on the two of us. This seemed to be more nerve racking than being sorted!

"Yeah! But now I'm already judged- just because I hang out with you. Just leave me alone Draco. I don't need you to mess with me now. I have more important things to do." He opened his mouth to reply but the sound of McGonagall clearing her throat cut him off. Both of us whipped around to face the unhappy teacher. I gulped, hoping I wasn't already in trouble.

"If you two insist on fighting like this, then we'll just have to put you in time out." I wanted to laugh but instincts told me not to. "Follow me Miss Black. We need to sort you." She turned and started walking out of the hall. I looked at Draco and stuck my tongue at him, knowing everyone was still watching.

"I hate you," I told him flat out, and then went to follow McGonagall.

"Well, that's very mature Emily!" he yelled after me. I hurried and caught up with the Transfiguration teacher and walked behind her like I was in trouble. When I glanced up I noticed there were two new figures walking by the uptight professor. One was tall, well taller than me, with shoulder length dark colored hair that seemed to have blue streaks. The other had black hair that went down to about an inch on her chest. She walked with authority, swaying her body as if she was God Almighty. This was the second time I had made this trip today, but I was happy not to have to do this like the first years did.

Soon we were sitting in Professor McGonagall's office, like Harry, Hermione and I were earlier. Professor spoke up, "Now, it seems like there has been some weird reason why all three of you are starting this year but we cannot deny you all an education."

"Uh, professor?" Spoke the "godly" girl.

"Yes Miss Miketsu?"

"What are we doing in here?" She was looking around, apparently amused by all this. I rolled my eyes.

"Weren't you paying attention moron?" I heard the other speak up. Miketsu's attention turned to her and glared with her deep amber eyes. Man, it was worse than my death glare.

"Girls. Stop it. You are like Miss Black and Mister Malfoy." I felt my cheeks go red. I was growing to really hate this teacher. "Now, I'll have you put on the hat first, Emily."

"Oh joy," I replied. I reached over her desk and took the old, smelly hat (that probably is infested with lice) from her hands. I placed it on my head and shut my eyes.

'_Ahhh. A Black. I remember your father very well . . . he was a brave one, he belonged in Gryffindor._'

'Yeah, Yeah, Get on with it.'

'_Feisty. Hmm. . . You have a lot of courage, and a little too much of a thirst to prove yourself. But, I'm guessing-_'

'You're guessing!'

'_Yes, I'm guessing you'd be best in-_'

"GRYFFINDOR!" I sighed in relief. At least I didn't have to see Draco tonight.

"Ah, OK. Pass the hat along, Miss Miketsu, you're next." She didn't seem to be thrilled about putting on the hat either, actually I think she was going to say "No way" but decided against it. The hat wasn't on her head very long until it said, "Slytherin!" She smirked, looking very content and gave the hat over. The last girl looked as if this was her dooms day. It got an inch from her head before it yelled "Slytherin!"

'She didn't even get to put it on her head!' I thought.

"That settles it. I assume Professor Snape will perform the transfer spell on you two tomorrow, if you need it. I'll walk Emi here to the Gryffindor common room, and Whiskey here will take to the Slytherin room." She nudged her head towards a small looking creature with huge dopey eyes, rather large ears, and wearing what seemed like a bath towel. "Come along Miss Black." I followed McGonagall again out the door.

Professor McGonagall and I walked to the Gryffindor Tower without talking. To be honest the more I thought about it the less I wanted to be a Gryffindor. I wanted to be in Slytherin with my brother and the lovesick fool named Draco. At the rate of my popularity is going now- someone will try and kill me by the end of the year. We came to stop in front of a picture of some fat lady. She looked at us rudely and stuck her nose in the air.

"Password?" she asked us.

"Fortuna Major," McGonagall said. The lady seemed very irritated with the fact she got the password right. The picture swung out and a small hole was behind it. "Follow me Miss Black." "Uhhh. Ok, Professor," I whispered. She climbed through the hole and waited for me to do the same. I preceded and looked around at my surroundings. Most of the room was a deep red and gold was in some paces. Couches and chairs were filled with tired looking students as the embers in the fire began to slowly fade out.

"Your room is up the stairs and to the right. You should find all your belongings there. The password is 'Fortuna Major'," she explained to me. "Good night." I drew a long breath as she left the common room. I glanced around again. Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to me or even notice the fact that someone came in. I saw Hermione sitting in a chair in front of the dying fire and thought about going to talk to her for a moment but decided against it.

'She would probably scream for help if I even said 'hi' to her," I thought. Shrugging the thought off, I climbed the stairs and went into the girl's dormitory. I changed into my pajamas, climbed into my 4-poster and slept.

In the morning, I woke up to a room full of sunlight and chatter of female voices. I opened my eyes and saw that I was still at Hogwarts. 'This is a nightmare that won't end!' Sitting up in my bed I moaned a lot and grabbed my hairbrush off the stand next to it. I swung my legs over to the side, put my brush down and stood up. The talk in the room stopped when I got to my feet. All the girls, (all five of them) looked at me with horror and alarm.

"Watch it. I bite," I said to them. They all jumped as the words came out of my mouth. I rolled my eyes. "You girls are immature." I grabbed clean clothes and a robe and headed to the bathroom.

I hurried down to breakfast. I was pretty hungry now, probably from not eating the night before, and I wanted to get there before everyone else did. I entered the Great Hall with ease, not wanting to draw attention to myself. There were only four people seated at the Gryffindor table. They give me an expression of disgust as I sat down at the end (again).

The two girls from the night before walked in next, one after the other. They shoot me a weird look as they took their rightful seats at the Slytherin table. Next to enter was Draco, his cronies and some chick that reminded me of a dog. She glared at me and returned the look. I saw her whisper something in my Draco's ear, leaning in a little **too** close. I wanted to kill her but I don't know why; it's not jealousy . . . it's more like rage. Draco smirked at her and said something in return. The "girl" seemed to get angry and red in the face, and then glared at me again. Ha ha. Malfoy started walking over to me, and my "mean" face faltered and I started to blush. 'Dammit Emi! Stop!' I thought over and over again.

"So. Are you still angry with me Emi?" he asked sincerely. I didn't want to answer, but I figured I needed at least one friend.

"No. I'll get over it Malfoy. I've realized I have this bewitching charm that I can use on men, I can use it to get friends," I said to him. His smiled left his face, leaving him with a shocked expression. I just winked and took a sip of my orange juice.

"You aren't serious are you?" I almost spit out my juice as he said that.

"What!"

"I mean, are you kidding?" He laughed at my sudden stupidity. I joined in on the laughing, as he took a seat next to me.

"Yes. Of course I am joking! Besides I'm not that good," I answered. I chuckled and glanced at his face.

"What classes do you have today?" I picked up my schedule and held it in front of me. He leaned in closer to my face so he could see it; his breathe on my neck was warm and his scent was overwhelming. I had to use my hand to keep me from falling over. 'Dammit! You're falling apart again! Come on Black!' "You're free right now?"

"That's what it says. Then transfiguration, followed by lunch, then Care of Magical Creatures, with Slytherin."

"Good we do have a class together," he grinned, then kissed my cheek. I could feel more blood rushing to my head. Oh god . . . "See you in lunch Blackie." He got up and went over to his table. I watched him entertain the others; I suppose he was making fun of Harry's fainting spell on the train. I found it very funny. The trio walked in as Draco pretended to faint, Harry didn't find it one bit of it funny.

"Hey, Potter!" Shrieked the Slytherin girl from earlier. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! _Woooooooo_!" I followed them with my eyes as they sat down by another redhead. I collected my books and walked out the Great Hall, determined to get the summer homework for Transfiguration done before class started.

A/N: Anyway. Yes I know the speech Dumbledore said took up a bit of time, actually all together it is- 390 words :P Pay attention to those other girls. They will be _very_ important later. Hint hint.


	6. Nephiro, Rilee, and Lily

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, Lily, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: On comes the classes for the day. I'm warning you this turned out to be a rather. . . long chapter. YaY! Edited Note Long? After this chapter I think they all are over 2000 words... Which is definately a good thing. I changed Lily's last name from Evans to Marrin. :( But if you've read the 5th book, then you would see that Petunia is suppose to be the only living blood relative that's still alive. So Yeah. Whatever.

**Chapter 6: Nephiro, Rilee, and Lily**

The common room was still fill of people, so I took my work and traveled to the school library. The librarian kept peering around bookcases and corners at me as I rushed to write on the scroll. I glanced at the clock on the wall, it read fifteen minutes to 10 o'clock and I was writing my last sentence. Sighing deeply I stuffed my Fig stuff into my bag and left the library running. I made it the classroom with about a minute to spare. Inside, it looked like almost everyone was already there. I took the only empty seat next to a medium skinned girl. Her dark brown (pretty much black) hair was all done in braids and her eyes were a pretty azure color. She didn't give me a dirty look like everyone else did in fact she didn't give me any look, just stared at the teachers desk. It seemed to me as if she was nervous.

"Are you OK?" I asked the girl.

"Yeah, I just don't like this class," she replied, still looking at the desk.

Professor McGonagall showed up not long after that and was talking about how humans can turn into animal, freaky people called Animagi. Then she turned into a cat and back to a human. I was dumbstruck! 'What the hell?' She didn't seem very pleased with it though.

"Really, what has got into you all today? Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class." I saw about half the class turn their heads towards Harry. Oh great, what did Mr. Big-Shot do now?

"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading tea leaves, and-," Hermione explained to everyone. Know it all. I dislike her a lot. McGonagall frowned.

"Ah, of course. There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?" Everyone took their eyes off Harry and stared at our teacher. But I kept my gaze on Harry Potter, and so did the girl next to me.

"Me," Harry spoke up. Omigod! Yes!

"I see. Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it weren't for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues-" She paused. "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have little patience with it. True Seekers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney-" She stopped again. "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in." It made her seem like she hated Trelawney. Hell I would if she predicted the deaths of my student for shits and giggles. I laughed along with everyone else.

Class ended soon after that and I took the spare time to ask the girl who was sitting next to me her name. "Hello, I'm Emi-" I started. She turned and looked into my eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I think the whole school knows," She stated sarcastically and rolled her eyes. "I'm Lily Marrin." I smiled. "Hey, sit with me at lunch." I nodded and we took our seats at the Gryffindor table.

Draco met up with us after lunch and the three of us walked down to Hagrid's "house". From a distant it looked horrible, but man, up close it was worse. I can't believe someone that tall could fit into that tiny hut. Crabbe and Goyle were already at the door when we got there, trying to talk to the two girls from McGonagall's office.

"Ew, no, don't touch me!" The one with blue streaks said to Crabbe as she planted a slap across his ugly face. Her and the other one hurried away from the two guys and walked towards us. "They're Gryffindor, Draco. Have you no standards?" She gave me a look of intense dislike.

"Excuse me? You haven't been here any longer than I have, how can you already hate a house?" I asked harshly. She looked at me in amazement, like I was crazy to talk back to her.

"Calm down Rilee. These two are cool," Malfoy told her, as he held me back from hitting her. He put his arm around me and grinned at Rilee. She made a disgusted face and turned to talk to Miketsu. I felt the urge to introduce myself but was interrupted by Hagrid calling to us to follow.

"C'mon, now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" He led us behind the hut to an empty fenced off area in the back. "Everyone gather 'round the fence here! That's it- make sure yeh can see- now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do it open yer books-"

"How?" I heard Draco say from next to me.

"Eh?" Hagrid gave him the look he gave me when I asked where I was after I woke up.

"How do you open our books?" I took out my own book that I had duct taped together when everyone else did. Draco had used a rope where others had used belts.

"Hasn'- hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" His face went a little pale and we shook our heads "no". "Yeh've got ter _stroke_ 'em. Look-" He took Hermione's book, peeled off the tape. I watched as the book tried to bite but fell open when Hagrid ran its fingers down the side.

"Oh, how silly we've all been! We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!" I elbowed him in the side hard. "Ow, Emi!" he whispered to me.

"Be nice Draco!" I commanded him.

"I- I thought they were funny," Hagrid stuttered.

"Oh tremendously funny! Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!" I hit him again. He looked down at me and I just glared.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry told him. I totally agreed.

"Righ' then, so- so yeh've got yer books an'- an'- now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on . . ." I followed him with my eyes as he disappeared into the forest. God, I hope he comes back.

"God, this places is going to the dogs. That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him-"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry and I said at the same time. We stared at each other, before I put my eyes on Draco.

"Oooooooh," One of the Gryffindor girls squealed.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you-" I smacked his arm as Hagrid pulled out about twelve of the most demented things I've ever seen (even after meeting Crabbe and Goyle). They had had a mix of body parts . . . the torso, back legs and tails were horses while the front legs; the wings and heads seemed to belong to an eagle or a hawk. I thought they looked particularly scary.

"Hippogriffs! Beau'tiful, aren't they?" Ew. Beautiful? The guy _really_ is crazy! "So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer-" I saw Hermione, Harry and Ron move closer, along with Miketsu and Rilee. So I thought why not me? I approached the fence cautiously. "Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud, easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do." I glanced back and saw that Draco wasn't even paying attention. The moron. "Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right- who wants ter go first?" I looked at the creatures and saw they didn't look very friendly at the moment and I sure as hell wasn't going to volunteer.

Hagrid asked again, still nobody, until Potter said he'd do it. Wasn't he supposed to die soon? I smiled at the thought of the Hippogriff ripping Harry's limbs off. Malfoy causally walked to my side and slipped his arm around my waist as Harry demonstrated to the class.

"Can't you be a little nice, Draco? I mean it's the guys first class," I whispered to him. He didn't answer; his gaze was on Potter and the hippogriff.

"Easy, now, Harry," Hagrid coached. "Yeh've got eye contact now try not ter blink . . . Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much . . . Tha's it, tha's it Harry . . . now, bow . . ." I stopped paying attention, I was listening to what Hagrid said before. Blah Blah. Soon Harry was able to touch the beast and the class applauded. Why clap? It's not like he did something important. Harry climbed on to Buckbeak's back right before Hagrid patted the creature. Buckbeak soared into the air quickly, and Potter looked like he was going to puke.

When he landed the whole class went to different hippogriffs. Miketsu, Rilee, Lily and I took one that had gentle blue eyes and a green tint to his brown feathers. I stared into its eyes, then did a quick bow. The hippogriff continued to look intently into my eyeballs. It bent its knees gracefully and then stood back up. I walked up to it and patted its head softly. I pet the creature and walked away slowly to see how Malfoy was doing with Buckbeak. When I got over to him he was already petting its beak.

"This is very easy. I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it," Draco was saying nauseatingly. "I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?"

"Malfoy, No!" I yelled, but it was too late. Buckbeak swung its talons up and sliced Draco on the arm. He screamed in pain and I ran up to see how bad it was. It was a deep wound; blood was already soaking his school robes. I wasn't the only who came up to see if he was all right (which he apparently wasn't), Miketsu, Rilee, Crabbe and Goyle also surrounded him. Malfoy curled up in a ball holding his arm and moaning.

"I'm dying! I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" he yelled.

"Oh shut up you pansy you're not dying!" Miketsu told him, and everyone around us snickered.

"Yer not dyin'! Someone help me- gotta get him outta here-" Hermione opened the gates and Hagrid ran with Draco up to the castle. I was close at their heels, not wanting to hang with the class.

"Wait, Black!" I heard a couple of voice yell from behind me. I slowed down a bit as Rilee, Miketsu, and Lily came into view.

"Yes, may I help you three?" I asked as if was some Ministry of Magic official.

"Snotty bitch," I heard Miketsu say under her breath. My brows deepen as I fasten my pace. I heard Rilee's stern tone cuss out Miketsu.

"Shut the hell up, Nephiro and take that stick out of your ass. I'm tired of your shit." When we got into the castle, Pansy (Yeah, that dog actually had a name, and it wasn't Fido) said she was going to see if he was OK. Nah-Uh. Not on my watch. I ran by Pansy and gave her a shove and continued up the staircase that led to the Infirmary.

A/N: Erin: god emi is moody. Thank you. :) I try.


	7. Facing Myself and New Records

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Here is a chapter. Lol.Edited Note Yup. I guess 11 and 12 weren't very long… maybe like 1, 500 words. Well I combined them too. And look! Over 3,000 words!

**Chapter 7: Facing Myself And New Records**

Draco was still crying out in pain when I got to the infirmary, he was squirming on the bed while Hagrid stood watching nervously, twisting his hands within one another. Madam Pomfrey was rushing around trying to get certain remedies to put on Draco's arm. I felt like I was going to puke- I mean from looking at the deep gash in the flesh. The sight of blood made my stomach do flips, it was worse than when Draco touched me. I walked over and took a seat next to his bed to keep me from passing out.

"Hagrid- you may go now. Don't you have another class today?" Madame Pomfrey inquired. Hagrid just nodded his head and backed out the room, leaving me alone with the crying baby.

"Draco, calm down. Your arm is going to be fine!" I told him in a stern but soothing manner.

"Bite me, Emi!" he moaned back.

"Now, you two stop it," the nurse cut in. "Hold still Mr. Malfoy." She poured a steaming green liquid over the cut and he let out a high-pitched yelp. I cringed at the sound, but regained my composure when I heard Draco whispering my name.

"Emily?" he called.

"Yeah, Malfoy?"

"Go to the Owlery and sent a message to my father explaining that he is needed at the school immediately." His gray eyes pleaded with mine, as I bit my lip. I leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sure, Draco."

I didn't see much of him the next couple of days. We were in potions when he finally decided to come to class. I knew his arm was fine, but choose not to say anything thing about it to him, knowing he was enjoying the amount of attention he was getting. I heard Seamus and Harry talking about my father during a portion of the class. I think Malfoy had a little go in the conversation too, but I brushed it off and tried not to let it get to me.

I wasn't looking forward to our first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. I hadn't tried or wanted to speak with Lupin since that day at The Leaky Cauldron. I took a seat in the back, next to Lily and waited while everyone took out parchment and quills. Professor Lupin stumbled in the doorway, looking no better than he did at the welcoming feast. He stared at me, then at Lily, and then at Harry.

"Right, good afternoon. Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson." Everyone in the class had this scared expression on their faces. "You will need only your wands." The class put away their books as Lily and I smiled at each other.

"Why didn't you take your stuff out?" I asked as we all piled out of the Dark Arts classroom. The two us didn't even pay attention when some ghost was causing trouble in the hallway.

"I just don't see the point of taking out supplies when you don't even know we need them," she answered as if it were the simplest thing in the World. "Why didn't you?"

"I just had this feeling that we wouldn't need them today." Professor Lupin stopped us outside the staff room door. I looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Inside, please," he said, opening the door. Inside, the room was long with different types of furniture that didn't go together. Professor Snape sat in one of the old armchairs.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this," Snape told Lupin as he got to his feet and walked to the door. "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear." How dare him! I let out a growl as others in the group glared. He smiled knowing his comment had made an impact on the class.

"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation and I am sure he will perform it admirably," Lupin countered. "Now, then." He pointed to a bureau at the back of the room. When he got close the closet the dresser starting wobbling. "Nothing to worry about. There's a boggart in there."

"Ummm. . . And you're telling us that's not something to worry about?" I asked in a shaky tone. Heads turned towards me as I finished my sentence. It was the first time I had even said a word to any of the teachers in a class since classes started earlier in the week. Harry looked rather displeased and Lupin was smiling.

"Yes, I am Miss Black. Do you happen to know what a boggart is?" Hermione's hand shot in the air but I knew the answer . . . for once. Her glory was gone this time. . . bloody showoff.

"It's a creature who hides in dark spaces and takes the shape of the nearest person's greatest fear," I told the class.

"Indeed." He nodded with contentment. "_This_ boggart moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice." He glanced at us then back at the wardrobe. "The boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out he will immediately become whatever each of us fears. This means, that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

He didn't look very happy with the fact Lupin had called on him "Er- because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?"

"Precisely." Lupin continued on babbling about boggarts he has seen in his past and stuff and other junk. But my attention was set on the wardrobe. He asked the class what scared us the most. And here I was, worried what shape it would take if it faced me . . . the fact of the matter was I didn't know what my greatest fear was. Was it the truth? Was I afraid of the truth about my father? Or was I more scared of blackness . . . the darkness that consumes souls forever, binding them to "things" like Voldemort. I honestly didn't know.

I watched as Professor Lupin opened the dresser with his wand and a fake Professor Snape came walking out of it. I hid my sniffles of laughter. There was something about that guy that made me chuckle.

"_R-r-riddikulus_!" Neville shouted. Then it was like magic . . . well, it was magic . . . Snape was wearing an ugly green dress with a hideous hat that looked look it had some kind of bird on it. To top it off, he was carrying a red handbag. I began laughing, this was going to make it harder not to laugh every time I see Snape!

"Parvati! Forward!" Lupin called out the class. The young girl took a step in and the boggart changed into a mummy, wrapped in bloody bandages. She held out her wand and yelled the same thing Neville did. _Poof!_ The head of the mummy just kind of flew off and rolled out of the floor, as the bandages slowly fell off. The class starting laughing again. "Black! You're next!" I gulped and walked a few small paces towards the un-bandaged mummy. Its body turned to me and there was a loud cracks, there standing before me was myself. The students around me took loud intakes of air, and others gaped. What am I going to do?

I sighed and closed my eyes. Once, in my grammer school, my classmates had taken a black marker and drew things on my face when I fell asleep in naptime. Then, they spilled paint on me. Yeah. I wasn't liked at other schools either. I pictured the scene with me a little more grown-up and yelled, "_Riddikulus_!" All around me people starting to giggle, then it got louder and louder. I opened my eyes and saw me, covered with pink paint with rainbows drawn all over my face. 'That so didn't help my reputation,' I thought as I took as step back into the crowd. The class ended and a very pleased Lupin looked upon us.

"Excellent! Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone . . . Let me see . . . five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart- ten for Neville because he did it twice, and 10 for Emily because she had to humiliate herself." I felt my cheeks go red. "And five points each to everyone who answered a question."

After class everyone was talking about it. Probably all were laughing at me for being afraid of myself. How was I scared of myself?

"Uhhh, Professor Lupin?" I walked up to him as the rest of the class left the room.

"Ah, Emi. How nice to see you again," he said.

"Err- Right. Why did you give me points for, err- defeating myself?" I wanted to know if I was getting special treatment.

"Simple. You defeated something that most of the class wouldn't even bare to have faced. I'm proud of someone who can put pride behind them like that." He walked away, leaving me in the teacher's office.

I saw Oliver and Sarah walked in the hallway, on their way to dinner. I went up and said hi.

"Hey there Emi," Sarah said cheerfully, still clutching Wood's hand tightly. "Did you and Draco make up yet?" I was blushing. How could we make up if there really wasn't a "we"?

"Umm. . . I guess so. Why?"

"Because, he was all bent out of shape after the welcoming feast. He wouldn't talk to anyone in the common room, not even those two buttheads he hangs with."

"Oh." She winked at me.

"See ya Blackie!"

o.O

I was sitting outside by the lake, minding my own business . . . if watching Sarah and Oliver make out across the lake was my own business. People were going walking about with their friends, being teenagers, but moi, being my loserous self, sat alone. I threw a clump of grass in the water and said, "This blows."

"I agree Blackie," Nephiro said from behind me. I personally didn't know her very well except she and my brother hit it off pretty well. She sat down on the ground a couple of feet away. "Being the new kid sucks."

"Yeah, I kinda wish that I was still with my Aunt Mildred. But, after a minute of thinking that, I would rather kill her," I complained, half joking and half meaning it. I heard her mumble something. "What was that, Nephiro?"

"I said, you probably couldn't kill her if you tried."

"What are you two doing?" Someone said before I could retaliate against Nephiro's comment. I recognized the voice as Hermione's. I turn to face her and saw she also was traveling with a friend . . . Harry Potter. Oh joy.

"Plotting your demise. Go away or it won't be a surprise," Nephiro sneered.

"Well, that's not nice!" she whined.

"Yea, Nephiro. That's not nice," I agreed. I got up, dusted myself off and took a step towards Hermione. I flashed a grin at Nephiro as a smile grew on her face. "I'm sorry Hermione for my . . . friend's rudeness." I held out my hand and she looked at me like I was mad. Nephiro got to her feet and stood next to me. Hermione slowly put out her hand and shook mine. I tighten my grip and grabbed her wrist with my free hand, then with a powerful shove, pushed her into the lake. Another splash followed and I saw Harry fall in as well. Nep looked rather pleased.

It was funny how we "bonded" at the moment; I mean Nephiro and I. We only seem to agree on one thing- people who we hate. And I, Emily Black have a strong dislike for Potty and Mudblood girl. I felt rather proud.

o.O

"Never in my years at Hogwarts has that sort of thing happened!" McGonagall said to us sternly. Her and Professor Snape were told of our deed and I was feeling stupid. We were going to be expelled. "Nevertheless, I do not feel this needs to be punished with expulsion from this school. You will each have detention every Wednesday night until Christmas."

"But Professor! I have Quidditch practice!" Nephiro yelled. I gazed at the young beater.

"Well, Miss Miketsu, I'm sure Captain Flint will not need you at practices. You are an excellent Beater," Professor Snape told her quietly. "You shall meet me here tonight at 7 o'clock. The tables need a good scrub."

The two us of walked away quickly, not wanting any more punishment than needed.

"This is all your fault, Black!" Nephiro hissed at me.

"My fault? It was you who pushed Harry in!" I countered.

"Yeah, only after you threw Hermione in!"

"I can't believe you! It's not my fault that you were too stupid and had to follow up on my stunt." I walked away. I didn't need to get into another fight now, not after I got dished detentions with Snape.

"Whatever!" she cried after me.

o.O

My detention was eventless. Snape went on and on about how it was disrespect to school property to throw Gryffindors into the lake and that we are lucky they weren't killed.

"It would have saved me some trouble if they did," Nep murmured under her breath. I just laughed. Leave it to Nephiro to wish death upon people.

"Where'd Snape- oh there he is." I said glancing around the classroom.

"Ha ha, Snapoe?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" It was like the first time Nephiro and I were normal towards each other . . . well as normal as we can get.

o.O

"OK, today we will be working on brewing the Vanishing Potion," Professor Snape said, moving his greasy hair behind her ear. The class whispered and Neville Longbottom looked at Lily and I nervously. "It takes precise measurement and if not done correctly, the object of the potion it's used on may never come back. I want to everyone's brew to be perfect. Then we will test them all on Longbotom's toad." Neville gave a frightened whimper. Snape had been pretty hard on Neville since to whole boggart incident.

"I've made the liberty of putting groups together. First group Black, Granger, and Miketsu. Second, Longbottom, Malfoy, and Potter . . . " All of us groaned but he chose to ignore us. Hermione and Nephiro picked up their stuff and sat down near me, glaring. I set the cauldron to a simmer while Nephiro and Granger cut up the ingredients.

"Emi, you're not doing it-" Hermione began to say.

"Shuddup Granger," I hissed. "Despite your beliefs, I am doing it correct."

"But-"

"Stop."

Snape lingered between Draco's group and my own . I guess after Nep and I pushed Harry and Hermione in the lake yesterday, made all the teachers watch me . . . to make sure I don't try any funny stuff.

"So, Hermione," Nephiro teased, "how was your swim? Did you and giant squid get along?" Granger kept cutting the ginger root, not replying to Miketsu's questions. I decided talking about the lake incident was not the brightest idea in the World with "Snapoe" lurking around. We told Dumbledore we slipped and "accidentally" shoved them in. And I want them to keep believing that.

"Pass the clabbert blood, Nep," I said. She gave the small amount of blood to me and I poured it into the brew. As I stirred I gazed at Draco. Now that his arm was better, Potter was making him do all the cutting of the components. "Draco," he looked up and smirked at me.

"Yes, Em?" he questioned. I giggled a little and winked. Pansy eyed me meanly then returned to her group (who was Lily and Ron). Malfoy turned a shade pink knowing that most of the class saw it and stared at the roots he was slicing.

"Black!" Professor Snape said harshly. I glanced up at my teacher, his cold-hearted eyes looking down at mine. "Why is your potion purple?" Hermione bit her lip when I looked over at her.

"Ummm . . . because when ummm . . . the clabbert blood and the smashed billywig stingers cause the water to turn a bluish tint. And . . ."

"And?"

"And the Kneazle claw which is a pink turns the potion a light purple," I breathed, hoping I was somewhat correct.

"10 points to Gryffindor." He walked away briskly.

"Did he just give Gryffindor points?" Hermione asked when he got out of range. I was shocked.

"I think a new record has been broken!" I could hear Ron say loudly.

o.O

"Emi! Wait!" I heard Harry yell from down the hallway. I was walking with Draco, what the hell did he want?

"What Potter?" I asked him as he reached us.

"Can I talk to Black alone, Malfoy?" Draco glared at him but never the less walked away.

"What is so urgent?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"I wanted to apologize."

"What!"

"For judging you the way I did. I want us to be friends again."

"Harry, Nep and I just threw you into a lake and you want to be my friend?"

"Yes. Think of it as payback. Now we are even."

"Fine, but I'm not going to be a good friend. Think it as a gift, because I allow you to speak to me." I turned and walked away. Harry wasn't worth my time.

A/N: Edited Note whack And Emi hits Harry with a direct blow to the nose! Haha. I wish.


	8. The Fine Detentions

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Sorry, once again. I had no time this week to write :)

**Chapter 8: The Fine Detentions**

Detention the next week was . . . eventful. Unlike last time. It was a full crowd in Snape's dungeon. Rilee was there for some reason I didn't want to know. Sarah was there because she was caught after hours in the school corridor. Nephiro and I were there for obvious reasons. And Harry and Draco were there because they got into a pissing fight at breakfast earlier that day. To say the least I didn't have to go in search of someone to kill.

Snape had us scrubbing the school cauldrons with our hands. Something Harry and I were used to, of course from me being my Aunt's slave. The others weren't so lucky to have done it before.

"So, let's all exchange stories," Sarah spoke up. I looked at her and growled. Everyone knew my story.

"I got to push Potter into a lake," Nephiro laughed. All of us, but Harry joined in. It was pretty funny now that I think about it.

"That's something that I've wanted to do since I was little," Rilee stated. We all looked at her.

"What? It's true." She glared at Harry and returned to scrubbing her cauldron.

"Why are you here Rilee?" Draco asked her.

"I got drunk."

"Haha. Like the sorting night?"

"Better." She smiled at Malfoy.

"You six!" All of us turned our gaze to Professor Snape, who was sitting at his desk. "Stop chatting and wash."

"How'd you get those streaks to stay so bright, Rilee?" Sarah questioned.

"Back at my old school my two best friends, Jenna and Karasu were playing . . . well experimenting and voila! When I went back home for the holidays the Malfoys had a fit."

"The Malfoys? You live with Draco?" This was a nice bit of information. I am glad someone decided to share it with me. The two of them laughed at me like I was a monkey in a zoo. "What?"

"Yes I live with Draco," Rilee replied, smirking at me like I had "moron" written on my forehead. She seemed to be mocking me with her red-tinted hazel eyes. I felt like there was stream coming out of my ears.

"Calm down Emi!" Draco said hoarsely. "She said she lives with me, not dating me!"

"Ew."

"That's nice Rilee. Now listen. Rilee's father left her in the care of my family. She is like a sister and **nothing** more!" I felt stupid. Of course she wasn't more than a friend . . .

"Malfoy. Black. Riddle. Get back to work!" Snapoe yelled at us.

"Riddle?" Harry spoke up.

"RIDDLE!" I yelled.

"Fuck!" Rilee screamed. She dropped the sponge in the cauldron and stood up quickly.

"Rilee!" Draco said, standing up as well. "Sit!"

"Sit?" Rilee cried. "You're telling me to sit!" She punched the desk hard, breaking flesh around her knuckles. Sarah gasped and reached over to look at Riddle's hands. Rilee just pulled it away and took a step back from the table. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Is there a problem here?" Snape showed up next to the angry Rilee and smirked. Her eyes flickered with excitement and anger. He placed his hand on Rilee's shoulder and motioned for Draco to sit down with the other. "Now, we need to relax Miss Riddle. Killing people won't do any good."

"What do you know?" she muttered. She shrugged Snape's hand off and closed her eyes. Rilee clenched and unclenched her hands, forcing more blood to flow from her wounds. She opened her eyes again and retrieved her stupid sponge. Rilee grabbed a soapy cauldron and dragged it into a corner, planning to clean away from us. Snape walked back to his desk and sat down casually.

"Are you three planning on explaining that to us?" Nephiro asked, gazing at Harry, then Draco, and then at me.

"Not exactly." Draco leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. 'God, he is hot.' I thought, but this was not the time or the place for that. 'But, damn.' "Rilee's father is a wanted criminal who has entrusted his daughter with my parents."

"Not any criminal Malfoy! Riddle is Lor-" Potter was cut off by a loud shriek from across the room. I glanced over and saw Rilee wrapping her hand within her robes, biting her bottom lip.

"Miss Riddle. Go see Madame Pomfrey now. The rest of you, detention is over," Snape told us. I gathered my things and ran out the dungeon door, not wanting to talk about what just happened. Rilee and Draco lived together and no one told me! It's not the fact they do; it's the point of the matter!

"Hey Emi!" Draco was walking next to me, keeping up with my quick pace.

"Yeah, Draco?" I asked, slowly down a little.

"I was going to tell you-" I cut him off.

"When?"

"She is like a sister! Black, listen to me!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me close.

"Why should I listen?" He bent forward and kissed me hard. Shocked, I shoved him into the wall. I ran down the rest of the hallway. I fell back on to the cold stone and slid down it. I heard footsteps, drawing nearer then stop.

"Leave me alone Malfoy!" I hissed, thinking before I looked.

"Ouch. Thanks Emi." Zandyr's low voice rang in my ears like a fire alarm. I glanced up and saw him smiling, but he had a look in his eyes that read 'What's wrong?' He reached down, took a hold of my wrists and pulled me to my feet. I struggled to break free.

"Leave me alone!" I cried out, trying with all my might to get away. He couldn't help me. I just need to be alone. Why else would I be sitting in the hallway. . .

"What's wrong? Calm down!" he commanded me. I kicked him in the shin and yanked my hands away from the loosened grasp. "Emi!" I didn't care though. I threw a punch at his face but he managed to catch it with his hand. "Think before you act!" I tried to liberate my clenched fist but Zandyr tightened his grasp. I let out a cry of pain as I felt my fingers snap. He released my hand and I brought it close to my body. It throbbed, and the pain was excruciating. I held it to my face and tried to move my fingers, it only cause more pain.

"Bastard!" I called him. He looked like a bloody train hit him. Yeah, now it's the time to be feeling sorry.

"I'm sorry-" He began, but I walked away. Destination: Madame Pomfrey's office.

Madame Pomfrey's was empty, except for Rilee who was sitting on the end of a bed, letting the nurse fix her knuckles. Pomfrey looked up and saw me. She sighed and came over to where I was standing. "What happened Miss Black?"

"A couple of my fingers are broke," I answered quietly.

She took a hold of my wounded hand and shook her hand. "What on Earth did you do?"

"I ummm . . . hit it against a wall," I lied.

"Children these days. Take a seat next to Rilee and I'll be right back." I walked over and sat down.

"So, what happened Emi?" she questioned.

"I. . ." Stopped myself. Rilee just smirked.

"Well, it couldn't have been Draco, he wouldn't touch his perfect little butterfly." I blushed and stayed quiet, letting her go on. "Potter's too stupid. Let's see, who's left? Nephiro? Nah, she wouldn't do that. Sweets? Too blonde. I wonder who would have that amount of power . . . Only people I can think that would be down in the dungeons would be Slytherins."

"That's a no brainier," I murmured.

"Shuddup. I was being sarcastic you dork. Now, the only other Slytherin that would be wander the hallway is Mr. Prefect himself- Zandyr." I gulped loudly. "And if I'm not mistaken, Nephiro said Zandyr was quite strong." I chose to ignore she said anything about Nephiro and my brother being together.

"Are you hinting that my own brother did this?"

"Of course not- I'm telling you he did this. Why hint when I know?"

"Well. . ."

Madame Pomfrey bustle back into the infirmary. "Miss Riddle, you may go to your house." She got to her feet.

"Rilee-" I said. "Don't say anything." She nodded and left.

A/N: Edited Note And this chapter is short. So is the next. Don't scream and punch the screen. They didn't flow very nice. Lol. Oh man. Maybe I should explain the whole thing with Zandyr here. I looked at it and I can't think of anyway to rewrite it because I'm uncreative So, like, she is being mean and wants to be left alone. She gets angry because he is there, lol. She throws a punch and catches her hand, tightens his grip on it which ends up breaking some of her fingers. Get it? I know. He should know his own strength.


	9. Help?

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: With the wonderful help of Rilee Riddle (monsoon) I/We wrote this lovely chapter.

**Chapter 9: Help?**

I was walking around the school aimlessly. Everyone else was at dinner, but I wasn't in the mood for food or to listening to Harry. I'm so sick of being a Gryffindor. I'm so sick of being here. Nobody wanted to talk me. I'm guessing they think I have something to do with my dad's escape. Yeah right. Snape was sitting at the teacher's table when I left so I saw this as a perfect opportunity to get what I need. I took the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and went down the list of items. "All of these should be in his office if I'm correct."

I traveled through the dungeon hallways slowly; I wasn't in a rush to get anywhere. Suddenly sounds like "thwang" and "pluck" echoed in the dungeon. I followed the noises to a large wooden door. I tried to open it but it was locked. Taking out my wand I whispered "_Alohomora._" The lock clinked and I pulled on the handle slowly. There stood Rilee Riddle with a cherry-wood bow, arrow nocked, and aiming it straight at my body. She turned the opposite direction, shot the arrow and then faced me again. She looked behind and saw the open door; crossing the room quickly she slammed it shut.

"What do you think you're doing?" she yelled.

"I was- was- just- ummm . . ." I was lost for words. Rilee just rolled her eyes.

"Look, just sit down in the corner and don't bother me. I have only three arrows left," she ordered.

"Yes, Master Rilee." Riddle glared at me as I took a seat against the wall. She returned to her original position and shot off her last arrows in a quick volley. I pushed myself off the ground and walked over to her. "Bloody hell."

"Bloody hell? That's it? God, even Draco had a better reaction."

"Bloody Hell," I said again. She laughed and shook her head.

"Dork."

"What the hell, Riddle?" The sight of it came to my mind. What was she doing down here with a bow and arrow?

"Did I give you permission to use my last name?"

"Did I give you permission to use mine?" We stared each other in the eyes, waiting for the other to make a move. Rilee broke eye contact and glanced down at my hand.

"Are they . . ." She shrugged.

"Yeah, my fingers are fine. Thanks for caring."

"Don't tell anyone." I laughed.

"Oh no! Voldy's daughter has feeling?" I sneered.

"Are you implying something, Black?"

"Never, Princess Rilee."

"WHAT did you call me!?!" she bellowed. "You _never_ call me _princess_!"

"Sorry, princess."

"Grrr."

"That's all you have to say, Riddles?" I provoked her.

"Riddles?" She ran at me, knocking me to the floor with a low kick to me kneecaps. I gritted my teeth in pain but didn't scream out. I swung my good leg around and tripped her. She fell to her knees. "Time to end this Emily Black," she said softly but forcefully. She lunged at me and placed her hands around my neck. "Whatcha gonna do now Emi? You know I'd hate having to tell Draco that I killed his girlfriend."

"I dare you. It'll be fun for both of us." I looked up at her. "I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be Black. I could kill you right now if I wanted to."

"Then prove it, Riddle. Saves me the trouble."

Rilee backed off. "What do you mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Well, I was down here to get ingredients from Professor Snape to make a special brew. But if you're are willing to end it a different way, go ahead." I smiled at her like I was a crazed maniac.

"Why do you want to end your life?" She looked down at me. Something flickered in her eyes, moving too fast for me to comprehend. "You need help."

"That wouldn't be the first time someone has told me that, I commented. I brushed off my robes and gazed at her. "I hate it here."

"You're not alone on that. But seriously you need physical help. Mental help, yeah probably, but you need to learn how to defend yourself." She helped me to my feet.

"And you're going to teach me?" I raised my eyebrows and let out a stifled laugh.

"I can if you want." Swiftly she swung her leg up into a high sidekick, aimed right at my head. "Do you need any proof that I'm good?"

"I have no doubts that you are good. But, someone who just said she has no problem killing me wants to teach me how to fight? What do _you_ get out of this?"

She looked away. "I get nothing," Rilee murmured. "But watching someone that has potential get the shit kicked out of her is sickening. All I want in return is for you to keep Draco of my back for a while. He's getting too nosey." I held my hand out to her.

"Deal."

She spat in her hand and reached for mine. "Deal." I chuckled and spat in my hand as well. Ew. Spit shaking felt so gross. I made a face as our hands met.

Riddle laughed. "Not used to this?"

"Not one bit. So . . ." I trailed off.

"We start tomorrow," she said, taking over the conversation. "Don't wear your robes and no matter what anyone says, don't tell them where you're going."

"OK . . . but tomorrow is Halloween."

"So? That'll be the best time. Everyone will be busy."

"Alright." Rilee picked up her bow, brushed past me, and opened the door.

"Close the door when you leave. Oh, and I'll be telling Snape why you weren't at dinner."

"Riddle!" I yelled running out the room (closing the door behind me). "You do, you die!"

"Oh my, Black. Powerful words." We laughed and walked back to dinner.

o.O

I got up early the next day. Halloween. Exciting. Rilee and I agreed to meet after lunch in the archery room today. I was apprehensive if I should trust her. The Great Hall was already full of students, all chatting like there was no tomorrow. I wasn't hungry, like always, so I went over to see Draco.

"Hey Emi," Draco said, he scooted over on the bench and I sat down. Some of the Slytherins sneered at me, especially Pansy. Though Nephiro, Rilee and Zandyr were sitting across from us, smiling. Draco put his arm around me.

"You two make me sick ya know that?" Rilee said. She finished eating her eggs.

"Why thank you Rilee. We try," I told her, sticking out my tongue. Nephiro laughed, and Zandyr rolled his eyes.

"So Emi are you ready for today?" She looked at my to see if I would fall for her trick. I'm not that dense.

"What's today, Rilee?"

"I don't know. I thought you were doing something important." She smirked, giving the smallest of nods in my direction.

"Well, since everyone was going to be gone . . . I figured it'd give me a chance to dance around the common room in my underwear," I joked. The others gaped at me in surprise. Rilee laughed aloud, surprising Draco.

"What?" she asked him.

"You laughed," he replied in awe.

"Yeah, people laugh Draco," I said, taking a bite out of his biscuit.

"Not Rilee. The last time she laughed was . . . before we left for school. Plus she never really laughed at home either." I looked at Rilee with a questioning expression.

"Well it's true," she said shrugging her shoulders. "What's the big deal? I don't like being happy."

"Neither do I," I mumbled. "Being happy doesn't come to naturally for me. It feels weird," I told them, looking straight at Riddle.

She grinned. "See I'm not the only **normal** one in this freak show." I laughed at her comment. I'm beginning to like Rilee now, she is funny, and for some reason she understands me.

"So, who is going to Hogsmeade today?" I asked.

"I am. I'll get ya something pretty," Draco told me. I felt my cheeks go hot as the table snickered.

"Draco . . ." I started.

"I know, I know. Stop," he finished.

"Dork," Rilee said under her breath.

"I heard that!" I stated to Rilee.

"Really? So what's your point?" Students got out their feet and walked out of the Great Hall.

"I guess that's our cue," Draco said. He kissed my cheeks and Rilee pretended to gag herself. "See ya later."

A/N: Yes. Emi was going to kill herself, but come on; do you honestly think she would have gone through will it? Bleh. I wonder how Emi and Rilee's first fighting lesson will go? And now useless humor that Emi brewed up:

Emi: I have no clue what to do... lol.  
Rilee: Haha dork.  
Emi: Bite me Riddle.  
Rilee: Ew. No, sorry that job has been given to Draco.  
Emi: Haha.  
Emi: I can do that at 13?  
Rilee: Hey if you want to go right ahead. I wont tell the Malfoys.  
Emi: Sweet! Bites Draco  
Rilee: You didn't have to do that in my presence!  
Emi: hehe :P


	10. WarmUps Suck

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother and brother are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Ok. This chapter is a lot of Dialogue. Just like the others have been. But I promise the next chapter will be more along the lines of descriptions. The next chapter is special . . . Any. Read! And please review! Edited Note Yup. They are getting longer. It's just now that the chapters are a lot more closer to being 2000 words, putting them together is silly. This chapter (as in chapter 10) used to be called 'Rilee, Lily, and Nephiro' or something like that… and the original Warm-Up Sucks was like chapter 17. So. Yeah. I want at least 20 chapters, lol.

**Chapter 10: Warm-ups Suck!**

I was never so bored in my entire life, since only 1st and 2nd years (except Harry) were left in the Gryffindor Tower. So I took this time to talk to Professor Snape (not steal from him, just talk). I was aware of his dislike for my father and his groupies and wanted to know why.

I walked in the Potions classroom skeptical, I wasn't sure if Rilee had actually told him about last night. But, I put on my best "brave" face and approached his desk.

"No, you may not have any extra credit," he said to me, not looking up from his book.

"I don't need any extra credit, I'm doing fine in your class," I told him. Snape glanced at me, and narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, amazingly you are." He closed the book and stood up. "How may I help you, Black?"

"How much do you know of my parents?" He glared at me, like I was a demon in disguise. "I mean, Professor Lupin wasn't very helpful . . ." Snape's expression relaxed.

"Lupin wouldn't tell you anything, huh?" I shook my head.

"He told me how my mum died, but after that we got into a fight about my dad, technically I haven't talked to him since."

"Well . . . Your father was a troublemaker, just like you are now. His sudden disregard of the rules always was unknown to the Headmaster. I knew when they were doing something wrong though." He paused.

"Yeah, so?" He took a seat on the edge of his desk.

"But your mother was a nice girl. She should have been in Slytherin, like you should be." I looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at him. "She was the only Gryffindor worth talking to. Until-" He was cut off by someone rushing into the dungeon.

"Professor! There's a- There's a fight in the common room!" The person breathing was heavy and the words stumbled out her mouth quickly.

"Bloody kids," he muttered. "Go back to your house Black."

'Great, that told me nothing. Maybe I should just talk to Lupin again,' I sighed. This whole day was going bad. There was nothing to do. I took my time going back up to the tower, and then used my spare time to take a nap.

Lunchtime rolled around soon after that. I practically ran through the hallways to get to the Great Hall. It seemed I slept the whole day. 'God, I hope I didn't miss lunch!' I bustled in and saw people were still there, eating and having fun. I spotted Rilee and Nephiro talking at the Slytherin table. I nodded in her direction and sat down to eat. When I was finished, I got to my feet, and went over to the Slytherins. Others from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff gave me dirty looks, along with people from my own house, I grinned at them as I past. 'Immature little brats.'

"Hey Nephiro. Rilee." I said taking a seat by them.

"What?" Riddle asked, looking up from her lunch.

"I just was saying hi. God, I'll leave then." I pushed up from the table, and swung my legs to the other side.

"Well how was I supposed to know? It's not like Draco is here."

"So Draco has to be here for me to say hello to people I know?"

"It's always been like that," she mumbled. "Draco is the one with the friends."

"Shut up you two. You sound like frickin' pigs. Squealing and whining." Rilee glared at Nephiro. "Bite me Nephiro."

"No thanks Rilee," Nep replied.

"I wasn't squealing!" I told Nephiro, in an annoyed tone.

"Uh huh. Sure," Nephiro retorted.

"You were. It was funny." Rilee grinned.

"You are not helping Rilee!" I stood up and put my hands on my hips. "You two can be more annoying than Hermione!"

Rilee forcefully stood up. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me!" I said, winking. "You aren't worth my time at the moment." I turned and walked away. Taking my sweet time I turned the corner and waited. 'Riddle should be here any moment,' I thought.

When she appeared, I jumped slightly. She nodded. "Let's go."

"OK," I answered dryly. I couldn't help but feel nervous. Strength wasn't my strong point . . . That's Zandyr's.

"Nervous?" she asked as we made our way to the archery range.

"How'd you know?" I asked, beginning to think she could read minds up top of all the other things she could do.

She glanced at me. "I was nervous too, when I first started. It's natural. But then again I also had a best friend teach me," she commented.

"Well, as you can tell, I have no friends." I forced a laugh. "I think everyone is too scared to even come near me."

"Well part of it is Draco's fault too. I mean he did tell everyone to..." She faded off. "You didn't hear that!"

"Hear what?" I tried to act all innocent, but ended up making me giggled.

She rolled her eyes, "Dork," she whispered "_Alohomora_," when we reached the familiar door and held it open for me to walk though. Closing the door behind her, I could hear her say another spell.

She turned around to me. "Well, today we're starting the basics." I shrugged.

"OK- you're the teacher." My stomach was uneasy but I walked out to the middle of the room with her anyway. I'm not going to chicken out now.

She got down onto her hands and knees. "We start with the push up. This isn't the normal push up that you probably did in school. This is a ballerina's push up. It's harder and works more muscles." I did the same as she did, and dropped down.

"Now what?"

"Do a normal push up only with your ankles crossed like this." She showed me what she meant. "Then you do it just like a normal one. It may hurt at first but the more you do it the easier it will become." I tried it, only to have my arms give out and me landing on my stomach. My cheeks got hot as I pushed myself back up into the original position. Trying it again, my body did the same thing.

"This is going to be a waste of time," I murmured, as I attempted to do another push-up. She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "This won't be a waste of time, Emi. You need to get stronger and this will help," she said, completing her sixth push up. I glared at her as she came back up with ease. "I guess I know what your homework will be."

"Can't I start with regular push-ups, then progress into the ballerina ones?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes.

"No."

"Dammit," I hissed. ""And what do you mean by homework?"

She grinned at me, coming up again. "Am I not your teacher? Well teachers give homework. When we meet again in three days, I want you to be able to do ten of these with ease. She sat up, having finished her own ten.

"You've got to be kidding! I can't even do one!" I said loudly. I went down a little back needed to come back quickly. There was no way I was going to be able to do a full one of these.

"Well deal. Draco knows these too. Ask him to help if you want, but don't mention me! When Karasu taught me, I was only given one day, so feel lucky." I didn't reply. The truth is I didn't feel lucky, I felt like this was going to take too much of my time. But, I'm not a quitter, so I'll just have to deal.

"Draco knows how to do these?" I questioned. I shut my eyes and bite my lip as I endeavored another one, except this time I made it all the way down.

"Oh yes. He won't admit it to the general public or any other Slytherin but his mom made him take ballet." She broke off into laughter. "That was a great year."

"Well- that's disturbing news." I finished my push-ups slowly and got to my feet. "Done."

She nodded. "Yeah seeing him in tight pants when we were only eight was a little disturbing..."

She cleared her throat. "Anyway..." I shook my head to get the picture out of my mind. "You know you wanted that."

"Not exactly. Any other weird things I should know about Draco?" I smiled at her.

"No, there's nothing I can think of right now. Though I'm positive that there are more. They'll end up coming out randomly, at some time or another..."

"Goody." Telling me something like Draco taking ballet could disturb my focus and I could probably end up hurting myself from the disruption.

She looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe during Potions..."

"You do that and I _know_ he'll hurt you . . . or at least try," I stated, knowing it was true. "So, what's next?"

She looked back down, "Huh? Oh right! Let's see, time for curls!"

"Curls? I really don't like the sound of those . . ."

A/N: For all you Nephiro fans out there cough Jess cough She'll be in the next chapter a little more because of an event that happens . . . Everyone that has come into play so far will be in the next one.

More Useless Humor:  
"Not exactly. Any other weird things I should know about Draco?" I smiled at her.

"Well there was this one time at band camp..."

Rilee: DONT PUT THAT IN!!!!

**OR**

"Well he did try to bake cookies for his dolls once..."

Rilee: Don't put that in either!  
Emi: why not? o.O that'd be hilarious... and it could give Emi bad pictures in her head every time she sees Draco


	11. The Return

Disclaimer: Ya know...

A/N: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to get up, but I've been wicked busy lately. So don't sue me if this is shorter than usual. Edited Note Ha. Shorter than usual? This is possibly the longest chapter I've come across before the editing process started! .

**Chapter 11: The Return…**

I left the archery room, feeling pretty sore. 'And that was only warm-ups!' I thought sadly as I climbed up the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. I was planning on taking a quick shower before everyone arrives back from Hogsmeade. The common room was pretty empty, some first years sat on the floor reading some books but looked up as I entered. I smiled at them and their faces grew pale. 'In that case . . .' my nice expression turned to a scowl and I eyed them.

When I returned to the common room about twenty minutes later and saw that the kids from the town have arrived back. Hermione, Ron and Harry placed themselves in a corner alone, probably talking about schemes about blowing up the school. Nice. I met up with Lily and we walked down to the stupid feast together. For the first time in a long time I sat and actually ate at the Gryffindor table.

"So, Lily . . . How was Hogsmeade?" I asked her, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

"Boring as hell," she replied, not taking her eyes off Ron who was seated a couple of people down. I cleared my throat and she turned her attention to me. "Sorry."

"You need to pick a better boy to stare at."

"You need to shut up," she said harshly. Some girls around us snickered at her childish comment. I personally thought it was funny. Lily lifted herself up and gracefully walked over to where the trio was talking. She pulled Ron away from his two friends and whispered something into his ear. Suddenly his eyes grew and his ears and cheeks burned a bright red that rivaled the color of his hair. I was disgusted and lost the little appetite I had. That girl has some serious problems. I got up and began to leave the highly decorated Great Hall when I felt a tug at my arm. I turned to see Draco standing there. His blond hair fell from its place, letting a few stands draw attention to his deep gray eyes. I bite my lip hoping not to make him laugh because of my red cheeks. My skin felt like it was being held over a candle from where his hand touched me. And it lingered even after he released his grip.

"Yes Draco?" I asked him finally. He smiled at me.

"Let's go into the hall." I followed him into the entrance hall and waited for whatever he wanted to say. "I got this for you today." He held out his hand revealing a small box wrapped in shining silver paper topped with a dark green bow. Slytherin colors. I took the present from his hands and stared dumbstruck at him. "It's you birthday present, a real one."

"Oh Draco, you didn't have too-" I started, but he cut me off by laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I didn't feel like a kiss was a practical gift for a young girl. At least that's what Rilee told me." He listened to Rilee? Man this boy was doomed. But I was pleased nonetheless. It was a sweet notion. "Go ahead and open it." I nodded at him and slowly undid the neat bow.

"Nice choice of colors," I stated, as I unbound the spell-o-tape that kept the paper together. Underneath was a small little black box that flipped up. I knew what goes in these types of boxes . . . jewelry. I opened it gently and let out a small cry of joy when I caught a glimpse of the contents. Inside, was a silver locket with a small pale green stone in the middle; surrounding the gem was engraved snakes and small diamonds. It was too much for me.

"It's a peridot." I looked at him in confusion. "It's your birthstone." I let out a sigh. He knew more about me than I did. Malfoy approached me and took the small box from me. Taking out the necklace, he undid the chain and motioned for me to turn around. I held up my hair as he placed the locket around my neck and clasped it. I spun around and found myself an inch from Draco's face. "Open it." I looked down and opened the small charm. There was a picture of my mother ad father, smiling up at me, waving. Next to them was a little boy holding a baby. Then on the other side was a photo of Draco and I taken by Colin Creevey earlier that year. I could feel the tears forming in my eyes as I looked into his eyes.

"This is the greatest thing anyone has done for me," I whispered to him as I hugged him tightly. He kissed my forehead then rested his chin on my shoulder. I could've stayed like that forever, but he broke away when people started coming out of the Great Hall, heading to the dorms for the night.

"Look at me." I glanced up at him and used his thumb to wipe away the stray tear I had let loose. "See you tomorrow Blackie." He leaned down and laid a kiss on my lips. Some people stopped and watched me to see what I'd do, but I just kissed him back.

"Gotcha Malfoy." I licked my lips as I watched him walk away. I started towards the common room in a daze, not wanting anyone to ruin my mood I pushed ahead of everyone else. When I got to the portrait hole, I let out a huge scream. The picture . . . well, wasn't there anymore! Someone, or something had clawed its way through the Fat Lady. Pieces lay on the floor and some barely hung attached to what was left of the painting. I heard others stop and gasp as Percy Weasley pushed and called to us.

"Let me through, please. What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password- excuse me, I'm Head Boy-" He came into view and his face grew pale and he looked at me in horror. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick!" The crowd split in two to let the headmaster and Professors McGonagall, Snape and Lupin through, they looked at the portrait hole, then at me.

"We need to find her. Professor McGonagall, please go tell to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady." Dumbledore's voice was calm but you could hear the slight peeved tone.

"You'll be lucky!" I followed the very annoying voice to see the same ghost that was tried to stick gum in a door when we were going to the staff room the first day of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What do you mean, Peeves?"

"Ashamed, Your Headmaster, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the forth floor, sir. Dodging between the tress. Crying something dreadful. Poor thing." Codswallop.

"Did she say who did it?"

"Oh yes, Professorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirus Black." Heads turned towards me, others screamed. Shit. This was the worst thing to happen.

"Prefects please escort the house back to the Great Hall and wait for my directions there. Professor Snape, can you please retrieve Miss Miketsu for me?" Snapoe nodded and walked briskly away. "Emily, please stay behind, I wish to speak with you." Oh joy. Lily shot me a look of sorrow as Percy herded them away like cows.

"Now, I know you have nothing to do with this whole mess," he paused and looked over at me. I was biting my lip and playing with my new locket nervously. "But I asked you to please ignore anything the other students say about you. I told Miss Riddle this when she first came here, you are not your father, and I don't think you are."

"I know, sir." He told me to join my classmates in the Great Hall when Nephiro showed up with Professor Snape, looking very confused. I gladly obliged, and practically ran to the hall. When I got there I stood over with Rilee and Draco and we waited for Dumbledore's orders. The professors walked in with a very angry Nephiro, she quickly joined us as the headmaster began to speak.

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrance to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Head Girl in change. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts." He is leaving us, with Percy as our babysitter. Ah man! "Oh, yes, you'll be needing . . ." He waved his wand and the tables flew to the end of the hall, and hundreds of purple sleeping bags appeared. "Sleep well." He left with all of the teachers.

"This is exciting," I mumbled under my breath, pulling myself into a sleeping bag. Rilee gave me a look like "don't-even-start-that". I settled down and lay on my back watching everyone group up to talk behind Percy's back. The clatter died down some when Head Boy yelled for quiet and the lights turned off. I lifted the new necklace to view and sighed. Why did he have to do something like this? Now I feel like I'm in debt. I fidgeted with it some more, stroking the smooth silver with my pointer finger. I noticed on the back was a small inscription. _'To Emily, remember family is the most important thing in life, never forget that. With Love, Draco.'_ I couldn't believe he said that, but it was true . . . family is the most important thing . . . if your mother isn't dead, you dad isn't a wanted criminal and your brother isn't a psycho.

"It was my idea." I heard a whisper come from my right. I turn my head to see Rilee looking at my hands.

"Well, then I should be thanks to you instead of him," I whispered.

"His birthday is on the 2nd Black." His birthday? Crap!

"Thanks."

"Please, don't thank me." She turned onto her other side, exposing her back to me. I sighed again and closed my eyes.

A/N: I guess this turned out to be a normal length. Sorry about the way I ended . . . but Monsoon had to go and couldn't help me with the dialogue. Which is perfectly fine, lol, I need to get back into the habit of writing myself again.


	12. Stupid Lupin

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

**Chapter 12: Stupid Lupin**

I was skeptical about leaving the Great Hall the next morning knowing what to expect. The Headmaster replaced the Fat Lady with some crazy knight that decided that I was the enemy . . . which to most people is true. I expected Harry to be scared like the rest but he smiled at me but kept walking.

I felt angry. Dumbledore is right. I am not my father, but it's hard to ignore everyone's comments. "Look out! It's Black, she'll claw you to death!" Others screamed or looked away . . . only people who weren't really fazed about this whole thing were the Slytherins, in fact I think they like me more now.

Deciding to skip my Transfiguration lesson and I went to see Dumbledore about Draco's birthday. If anyone can help about it, he can. I stood looking at the gargoyle in complete confusion, waiting for something to happen.

"Open," I hissed harshly. Suddenly the griffin turned and spiraled up the wall, exposing a set of marble stairs. I heard voices coming from the top, and immediately hid in the shadows.

"She is my student! I should be included in the interrogation!" Snape sneered as him and Lupin came into my view.

"Well really, Severus, it is a matter of utmost confidentiality. Not every teacher can be included you know."

"But he didn't even let Minerva stay, and she's the Deputy Headmistress!" I sighed at Snapoe's stupidity and walked out of the shadows.

"Uhhh . . . Professors?" I spoke up louder than I normally would.

"Black! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in a classroom somewhere learning something?" Snape questioned, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Yea. . .Transfiguration," I replied grimly. 'It's such a boring subject. Who would want to learn it?'

"Ok. . .I can see why you'd want to ditch it but that is still not acceptable behavior. Go off to class or I'll have to do something about it," Lupin said.

"I have a reason to be here," I said coolly.

"Really? Do tell us your so-called 'reason'," Snape intervened.

"I have to see Professor Dumbledore," I stated as though it were the simplest thing in the world. "Why else would I be out next to the headmaster's office instead of in class? It's like begging to be caught."

"Well, the headmaster is preoccupied at the moment. Very important business. It will take up the rest of the day. School junk, you know," Lupin responded quickly. 'He's a bad liar.'

"Well then maybe one of you two can help me."

"Sure. What do you need?" Lupin asked, obviously relieved I didn't wish to pursue the matter of Dumbledore's activity. 'Out of this school.'

"I'm sort of. . .in debt to Draco. I need to get him a birthday present but have no way to obtain something to give him," I replied. "And no, I don't want your advice on what to get him. I can take care of that myself." Both Lupin and Snapoe gave a sigh of relief.

"And this concerns us how?" Snape commented.

I cleared my throat and said, "I repeat: I have no way to obtain it."

"So? Make him something."

"No." I showed them the necklace he got me. "See? This is what he gave me. I can't just go make him a crummy present when he goes out and buys me something like this."

"True. . .but I still don't see how this concerns us."

"I want to go to Hogsmeade but I don't have a permission form. I was hoping one of you, or preferably Dumbledore, could chaperone me or something."

"Why don't you go to McGonagall. She is the head of your house and the current teacher of your class that you should be in, right now, not the two of us. We have better things to do then play babysitter to a class skipper. Be gone," Snape ordered, waving his hand at me.

"You look like a little girl when you do that," I insulted, turning away. Lupin laughed and I could feel Snape giving me a death glare. I smiled and left.

I heard footsteps trail behind me. 'Damn it! He's going to take points away from Gryffindor again! I'm going to be the death of that house.' "Wait a sec, Emi. I'll walk you to class so you won't get in trouble with Professor McGonagall," Lupin said. "And maybe I'll see if I can chaperone you to Hogsmeade. I'll talk to the headmaster and see if we can't work something out."

"Thanks. Can you do that by tonight?" I asked, a little unsure of his ulterior motives. 'What if he wants to rape me?'

"I'll see what I can do," he answered, he moved his hand as if he was going to pat my shoulder. I moved it away.

"Don't touch me. Please. Don't." He raised an eyebrow but stopped his hand. 'Yea. That's right. Don't mess with Blackie.' "Why are you being so nice to me, anyway?"

"I'm just trying to be a good teacher. If I sat around and acted like I hated you, I would be following in Snape's footsteps and. . . well . . .let's just say that I don't want to do that," he replied. 'Bad, bad liar.'

I arched an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously but chose not to comment. 'He's a teacher, after all. I can't insult him too much.' We reached the door of the Transfiguration classroom and stopped. I sighed and pushed open the wooden doors. Everyone in the classroom turned and stared at Professor Lupin and I. McGonagall looked at me strangely.

"Miss Black. How nice of you to join us. Please, take you seat next to Miss Marrin," She told me. I hastily walked over to my desk and sat down. Lupin glided over to where McGonagall was standing and smiled.

"Sorry for the delay, Minerva." He paused as if he was thinking of an excuse. Oh here comes the lies. "Emily and I were . . . discussing her grade. She hasn't been doing very well this quarter and she was asking about some extra credit." Others glanced at me and giggled. 'Holy shit!!! No! Stupid Lupin!' I buried my face in my hands, ignoring the laughing from my classmates. He is doing this on purpose, I know he is!

o.O Meanwhile. . . in Dumbledore's Office. . . o.O

(Nephiro's POV)

"I keep telling you! I didn't freakin do it!" I yelled, losing my patience with the senile old coot. "Why would I try and break into the Gryffindor tower?"

"I'm not saying that that is what you did. I have to ask. You did attack Hagrid, after all. And you were out on the grounds. I have to ask if you saw anything or did it. If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing my job to keep the students safe," Dumbledore replied. "Now, please. Calm down."

"NO!!! You have Lupin drag me out of Divination, bring me here, accuse me of trying to break into the Gryffindor tower and then make me sit here for God knows how long in this freakin gay ass room with that dumb bird staring at me the entire time." I paused to glare at the phoenix. "And that song is getting really annoying right about now! Make it stop!" Dumbledore looked a little shocked about my outburst. I was probably going to get suspended for swearing at the headmaster. I don't give fuck. I'm mad. Grrr. . .

"Fawkes, stop. It's obviously not helping her, though I don't know why. There's something you're not telling us, isn't there? You wouldn't be getting this upset if there wasn't," he inquired. "And do try and clean up your language a bit. I know your upset but really, there's no need for profanity."

'Screw you.' "No, there's nothing. I've told you everything I know. I was out for a joy run to get away from all the noise when Hagrid cornered me. I had no choice but to attack. It's not like I killed him or anything. I couldn't let him catch me, not after what my mom said," I explained calmly.

"What did your mom say? Why couldn't he catch you?" Dumbledore asked.

"She said, if I was caught you were going to perform a spell and keep me in my animal form forever. And she said you were going to give me to Hagrid as a pet. I'd really prefer not to be a pet, thank you very much, so I attacked. He should know better than to corner an animal when it's frightened. He is the Care of Magical Creatures after all. You'd think he'd have some common sense."

"We would certainly not give you to anyone as a pet. That is inhumane. But, I am curious about why Fawkes song didn't effect you." He looked at me quizzically, as though I were no more than a lion at the zoo. Hee hee. Lion.

I flipped a loose strand of my hair over my shoulder. "I would have thought it would be obvious by now. I thought you were smarter than this, Dumbledore," I "answered."

"Pray tell."

"No."

"Yes. As your headmaster I demand to know. This is a matter of importance."

"Come on. You mean you didn't see the clues? What I'm doing right now is one of them. A riddle. Think about where I come from. My mom . . .have you seen my wand? What's it made of? I can't believe you're running the school and you didn't even know. Ha."

"Are you trying to get yourself expelled again?"

"No, not really. If I wanted to be expelled, I would have been by now. Look at my history. You'd be a traffic cone and I'd be halfway to the Caribbean by now. But if you want to expel me, I won't complain. I didn't want to come here in the first place."

"Fine then."

"I'm expelled?!"

A/N: Bu-yea! Go us! (Meaning Smack and I) We rock! dances Yeah. . . she kinda took over the computer and typed it. . . so the writing style is a _tad_ different than usual. Oh well. Live.


	13. Draco's Birthday

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

**Chapter 13: Draco's Birthday**

I went to Professor Lupin's office after my Care of Magical Creatures class. I taken note that Nephiro wasn't in class and decided to worry about it later. I approached the Defense Against the Dark Arts room with great caution, like the handle would bite me. As I reached to open it, the door flung open, reveling a grinning Lupin. Crap, he is actually here.

"Oh, here for more extra credit Miss Black?" he asked, chuckling. I glared at him and walked into the room.

"That wasn't funny," I said, totally not happy with him. "You humiliated me!"

"So?"

"So! My reputation in bad enough as it is! I don't need your contributions to it!" He just laughed again. "Did you talk to Dumbledore yet?"

"No. Why the rush?"

"I have my reasons," I replied, taking a seat on the desktop. "Besides, I shouldn't have to tell you."

"Fine," he stated, winking at me. 'Ew.' I thought. "Follow me." I hopped down and hurried to catch up with him.

"Why do you have to walk so fast?" I complained, walking faster.

"It's not my fault you're short." he mocked me. I was just about to stick my tongue out at him when Dumbledore and Nephiro appeared from a small side corridor.

"I believe you wish to speak with me, Emily?" I nodded my head and glanced at Nephiro. She was looking particularly harassed; her amber eyes glowed like fire. She mouthed the word 'Die' to me and continued down the hallway. Lupin's weird smirk left his face and he looked serious.

"Let me ask him Emi," Remus whispered.

"No! You'll mess things up!" I replied.

"I'm sure Professor Lupin will give just as good as explanation as you would Miss Black," Dumbledore interrupted. They traveled a few yards away from me so I took this time to examine the moving pictures. One with a silver stag, a black dog, a sick looking rat and what looked like a wolf fascinated me more than the others did. "Beautiful picture, isn't it?" I jumped at the sound of Dumbledore's voice.

"Yeah."

"I believe this was done by your father," he commented. I turned and looked into his sparkling blue eyes. "He was quite an artist.

"Now, about your predicament . . ." I waited for a long speech about his decision being fair to the other students and blah blah blah, but it never came. Actually, it was the complete opposite.

"Professor Lupin and I have agreed to let you go to Hogsmeade, but just this one time. You mustn't let your classmates know though." I felt like bursting to joy but I just smiled. "Go and get you cloak and meet Remus at the entrance hall, he'll be escorting you." Damn.

"Yes sir." I gave a quick bow and started to run towards the common room as fast as I could go. I turned the corner and bumped right into someone, knocking me to the floor.

"I'm so sorry," I heard a male voice say. It was deep sounding with an accent that made my heart skip. I looked up at the person and met a pair of golden eyes. He had medium brown hair that was flipped up in the front and a small goatee that framed his face perfectly. 'Who is this heart-throb and where has he been?' I thought to myself. He helped me back on my feet and apologized again.

"No, it's my fault, I should have watching where I was going," I told him. He shook his head, but before he could say anything I introduced myself. "I'm Emily Black." He smiled at me. 'God he is good looking! Damn . . .'

"Isaac, Isaac Qwin." He informed me that he is a forth year Ravenclaw and a chaser for the house team. After about five minutes of conversation I remember I was suppose to be meeting Lupin. I said my good-byes, hoping I'd see him later, and rushed to the Gryffindor tower.

"Codswallop," I said to the portrait.

"Yes it is, isn't it?" Sir Cadogen replied.

"No, you moron, that's the password!" He scowled at me and swung open. I traveled to my room and grabbed my cloak and money. I was about to the entrance hall when I heard my name being called. I looked over my shoulder and noticed Zandyr was racing after me.

"Emi! Wait!" he cried. I just ignored him and pushed myself harder to go faster. Zandyr was still on my list of people to avoid and didn't feel like stopping to erase his name. The main doors came in view and I saw Lupin waiting patiently, watching me run as if something was chasing me.

"Come on!" I screamed as I past him. He stood there for a second until Zandyr flew by, chasing after me.

"Hey!" I heard my brother bellow. My body was getting tired I didn't know how long I could run and I began to get scared. I felt my pace slowing down and I figured it's best to give up now. I spun around and faced my older brother.

"What do you want?" I asked meanly.

"I wanted to apologize for the other week." Ha! Apologize?

"I'm not in a very forgiving mood for people who break their siblings bones."

"Hello, Alexzandyr. Will you be joining us?" Lupin asked curiously, as he drew nearer to us. "No, he won't," I said harshly. "Will you Alex?" He glared at me and briskly walked away. I gave a sigh of relief and continued towards the school exit.

"What was that all about?" Lupin questioned me.

"I do not wish to talk about it." And I left it at that. I didn't feel the need to tell Lupin anything. He wasn't family and he wasn't my friend. He was just a teacher who happens to be helping me on my quest.

When we got into town I looked around. There were so many stores, and I still hadn't chosen what I was going to get him.

"So, what are you getting him?" Doesn't he ever stop asking questions?

"A switchblade," I answered, not thinking.

"You're getting him WHAT?" Lupin exclaimed at me in complete surprise. I just smiled evilly and continued on my merry way. I found a shop called "Ceres Knifes of All Occasions" and entered into it. A tall, pretty woman with long red hair and brilliant blue eyes helped me; I envied her beauty.

"What can I do for you, young lady?" she asked.

"Can I see your selection of switchblades?" I answer, waiting for a reply like Lupin's.

"Sure thing. Right this way." She led me into a small part of the shop where it was dimly lit and pointed at case that seemed to have about twenty knifes in it. "There they are. I'll be up front if you need me."

"Thanks." I got closer to the glass and marveled over the gleaming metal. One particular one caught my eye. It was dark silver with a wooden handle, marked with a green snake up the blade. It reminded me of my necklace and I reached in my shirt and pulled it out to compare. The snakes weren't all the same but close enough. I brought the lady over and she unlocked the case, flipped the blade back into the handle and handed it to me.

"That's quite a knife," she commented looking at it again when I went to pay. "May I ask what it is for?"

"It's a gift for a good friend of mine." I grinned at the thought of Draco. "How much more does it cost to have it inscribed?"

"Nothing at all. What do you have in mind?"

"Can you write 'To Draco, Family may be the most important, but love is the most valued. Love, Emi.'" She nodded and I looked on as she waved her wand and the words magically appeared along the blade. I paid, and left the shop feeling more accomplished.

o.O

The next day past slowly. Draco wasn't at breakfast . . . or lunch. I began to get worried that maybe something had happen to him. When I asked Rilee she just laughed and walked away.

"Remember. Tomorrow makes three days Black," she yelled to me from down the hallway. I shrugged her off and walked back into the Great Hall. The knife made my bag heavier, like a burden weighting down my soul. I need to get rid of it.

I sat on my four-poster and stared at the ceiling above me. "Draco, where are you?" I asked out to no one. The sound of something tapping on glass caught me off guard and I screamed. I glanced to the window and saw nothing. Intrigued, I got to my feet and walked over to the window and looked out it, then screamed again. Draco was there . . . floating . . . I don't know how, I don't know why, but he was. I flung the glass open to talk to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" I cried to him. He just smiled and floated up more. I caught a glimpse of the broomstick handle and laughed. "Wow, I'm stupid."

"Sometimes, you can be," he answered, smiling. He flew over and landed on the floor of my room. I jumped down from my perch and gave him a good shove.

"Where the hell have you been?" I pushed him again. "And what do you think you're doing? You are not supposed to be here! How dare you make me worry about you!"

"Wait . . . Stop." I pushed him a third time and he stumbled off his feet and landed on my bed. 'Hmm . . . Interesting landing place.'

"I've been going out of my mind the whole day!"

"Excuse me for wanting to enjoy my birthday!" he exclaimed, getting up.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to give you your present!" He looked at me with a shocked expression, and then laughed. "Why the hell are you laughing, Draco? I am serious! This is not funny! I don't like feeling like I'm in debt to someone!"

"In debt?"

"Yes, in debt."

"But I already got what's mine in the deal." He took a step closer to me, and I felt suddenly uncomfortable. I backed away and sat back down on the windowsill.

"The package is in. . . errr. . . I mean, on the bed," I commented, looking down at the Hogwarts ground. I heard my bed squeak as he sat down on it. I watched his every move from the corner of my eye, as he picked up the neatly wrapped box.

"Red and gold. Real nice," he mumbled.

"It's no more than you deserve," I snapped. He gave me a quick glare and resumed examining the present. "Open it already so I can do my homework!"

"Patience Black Patience. I'm trying to guess what it is."

"Well, since you weren't here this morning, it's probably dead," I told him. He looked down at the box, then back at me. I just grinned. "Open it Malfoy."

He ripped off the red wrapping quickly, gazing at the white box that was revealed. "This box is wonderful Emi! Thank you so much!" I rolled my eyes and went over to him. He smiled his overpowering smile. "I'm getting to it. I can see you shiver with antici . . . pation." I hit him. "Do it again. Do it again." 'Sadistic little bastard.' He opened the lid of the box a little and peered through. "What the hell?"

"I thought it'd be appropriate," I stated.

"How?"

"Because you like being-" I shoved him back onto the bed, standing over him, grinning. "Pushed around by girls."

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

"You have to leave!" He looked at me confused. "People are coming you idiot! Leave!" He leaped to his feet, grabbed his broom and literally jumped out the window. I ran and closed it after him, not ever bothering to see if he even made it on to his stick.

"What are you doing up here Emi?" Lavender Brown asked me, as she walked to her bedside.

"I was doing extra credit."

A/N: If anyone caught the true perverseness of this chapter . . . then you deserve a cookie. :) Anyway. Yeah. This chapter sucked. And yes I know, siblings are not suppose to be scared of each other, but hey, he broke her freakin fingers for Kami's sake! Hehe. Oh well.


	14. Recoiling of an Emotion

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac (well . . . He is also Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: One of my partners ("Since when am I your partner? I do freelance.") in crime went and got her self grounded. So anything that has to do with Rilee will be slowed down a bit because I only see her in school. Relax. I'm not neglecting the story! Lol. I just have to use the old way communication . . . speech. ("-Grrr. . .)

**Chapter 14: Recoiling Of An Emotion**

I went to dinner feeling a little better about the whole Draco situation. But leaving him hanging like that and not telling him the real reason for my gift bugged me. Maybe I'm just paranoid. I sat down next to Lily and grabbed a biscuit.

"Oh, she eats!" Lily chided.

"Shut up, Marrin," I hissed. I took a bite and growled. "So, how are things with you and Ronnicuns?" I asked.

"Very well." She leaned in closer to me and whispered in my ear, "I have him wrapped around my little finger." I looked at her in shock and she just giggled.

Dumbledore suddenly stood up and cleared his throat. The Great Hall quieted down to very small whispers. "Attention, students. In response to the . . . uh . . . destruction of the Gryffindor tower painting, we launched an investigation. We have found the culprit to be a student, not Sirius Black." There were signs of protest coming from the tables; apparently people liked pretending there might be a madman in the school. How very nice of them. "The student was identified yesterday and has been dealt with accordingly." More people were looking around, taking glances at me. I looked over to the Slytherin table. 'Could it have been Nephiro?' I thought over and over again. "That is all. Enjoy the rest of your night." The old man sat back down and continued his chat with Professor Snape and Professor Lupin. The full-frontal chatter has risen up again and I was beginning to lose the ability to think. I got to my feet, hoping to escape the noise and I saw Nephiro leave the Hall, she seemed pretty pissed off. Zandyr chased after her, looking worried. Not even a minute later he returned, rubbing his cheek. I chuckled and waited a bit before I started my return to the common room.

o.O

The next day I went to classes normally, dreading the evening. I had a training session scheduled with Rilee during dinner and then detention with Lupin (which I was not looking forward too.). Draco seemed to avoid me in the ways of conversation. He was in the clouds and I couldn't pull him down. So I gave up and just stayed away from him.

Lily helped me with my Cheering Charm in the girl dormitory in some spare time. No matter what I did, I couldn't get to spell to work. My target always walked away feeling like the World was out to get them. Professor Flitwick told me I better get them under wrap or he'll have to fail me on that particular subject.

"Yup. Black, you don't want to do anymore . . . extra credit," Lily laughed as I attempted to cast the spell on Hermione's rotten cat.

"It's no use!" I yelled, sitting on my bed. The cat has run off because of my spell and Lily wasn't about to let me practice on her. "I'm doomed!"

"Relax. Hey, it's dinnertime. We'll work on this tomorrow." My eyes darted to her.

"It's dinner already?" I asked. She glanced at the clock.

"Yep. Now come on or we'll have no seats- why are you taking off your robe?" I threw my black school robe on my bed and started towards the door. "Don't worry about me. I have some things to do."

"Wait come back," she cried. I rolled my eyes. I turned to meet the tip of Lily wand and jumped back in surprise. "I said relax." She muttered something and a light flew into my body. I suddenly felt . . . happy. 'Oh god no.' "I can't let you leave here so discouraged." I wanted to push her out the window, but held my peace and left.

I met Rilee in the archery room during dinner like she has asked me to yesterday. She was standing in the middle of the room looking rather annoyed.

"Good evening Rilee," I said to her, grinning. 'Damn Lily and her stupid charm.'

"Shut up," she growled.

"Now aren't we the cheery one?"

"Why the hell are you so happy?" she asked. My smile grew wider.

"Because."

"Dork. It's unnatural to be happy."

"Who said the reason I'm happy is natural?" She blinked at me, but her expression was hard to read. " Lily and I were practicing the Cheering Charm because I'm not very good at it."

"OK . . . Right. Anyway."

"So, what's today?"

"What do you want to learn?" she replied. Great. Answering a question with a question.

"I don't know. Remember you said you're the teacher."

"Ungrateful little bitch."

"Ungrateful?" I said, startled. "I thought teachers were supposed to already know what they're teaching."

"I know what I'm teaching, but you're the one who wants to learn how to fight." I stood there dumbfounded. "Well?"

"I want to learn how to punch properly," I finally declared. She looked at me funny. "So, I can beat the shit out of Lily for this accursed charm!" I pointed to my smile and tried to frown. It wasn't working very good and Riddle laughed.

"How to punch? You just throw your arm, hand in a fist and aim for your target. It's not very hard." She hit the wall with a quick punching motion.

o.O

I ran to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class fast. My training session ran late and I was supposed to be at Lupin's five minutes ago. I turned the corner and slipped on the wet floor, sliding across the hallway on my stomach . . . smacking my head into the door. It opened. "Nice, Emi. Real nice," I heard Miketsu say. I lifted myself off the ground and glared at the black-haired girl.

"Shut up Nephiro. I don't need your shit at the moment," I hissed. Yup. I wasn't happy with the fact I had detention . . . and with Lupin of all teachers. She smirked and re-entered the classroom.

"Have it your way," she mumbled. "Oh, Lupin?" He looked open from his desk. "Would it be OK for me to do some . . . extra credit for you too?" Oh my God! That Bitch! She has no right to use that against me!

"Of course Miss Miketsu," Lupin said laughing. "I'd be happy to. You certainly could use it." He paused. "Considering your . . . less than perfect attendance record." I took this moment to attack. She has pissed me off for the last time. I jumped on Miketsu, knocking her to the ground. Lupin stood up but made no attempt to stop it.

"You whore! How dare you use that!" I yelled.

She just narrowed her eyes maliciously. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come between you and your . . . special friend!" she snarled; her lip curled. I swung my right hand back and threw a punch to her face, just like Rilee had showed me not even an hour before. She rolled to the side and I rolled with her, pinned to the ground. Her nose started to bleed and I smirked. 'And Riddle says I'm weak.' This time I swung around causing her to be on the ground again. She pried her legs from underneath me and, before I could react, used them to kick me up and over. She stood up, nose bleeding, and looked down at me. "I'd watch who I mess with, Black. You don't want me for an enemy." 'I thought she already was an enemy?' She turned towards the useless oaf they call a teacher, "I'll make up the time tomorrow, Lupin." She exited without a sound. Lupin didn't even try and stop her. 'Great . . . now I'm alone with him.'

"Ok . . . what cruel, pointless chore should I make you do today?" Lupin asked.

"How about we play a game of 'Leave Miss Black the Fuck Alone and Let Her Sit in the Corner?'" I didn't even wait for his answer. I stood up and took a seat in the back of the classroom. I stared out the window some time before either of us spoke.

"You won, why are you so upset?" I gave him a death glare and he sat back down at his desk.

"I didn't win. You don't know Nephiro," I finally spoke He looked up at me in surprise and he ran his hand through his hair.

"No, but I know her father," he stated, leaning back in his chair.

"How?"

"Old buddies." I raised an eyebrow at him but decided not to comment.

"I'm leaving." I got to my feet and started towards the door. "From now on I don't wish to have detention with Nephiro." And I left.

o.O

The school was boring the next couple of weeks. I continued my lessons with Rilee and waited patiently till Christmas when I would be free of the horrid detentions. Draco and I didn't really talk. He seemed to ignore me. I needed to find out what I did so wrong to deserve this kind of treatment. It was a couple of days before people left for Christmas break and I wasn't going to sit around and wait for him to come to his senses.

"Draco?" I caught him in the hallway on his way to the Slytherin common room. He looked back at me and smiled.

"Wassup Em?" he replied, stopping.

I took a breath, "Why have you been avoiding me?" He stared at me in shock.

"I haven't been avoiding you! What makes you say that I have been?" He sounded hurt. "Well . . . When I see you, most of the time you turn and walk the other way, even when it's in the opposite way you're supposed to be heading. And I'm starting to get the impression you don't want me around." My explanation came out all at once, the words were slurred together and I wasn't even sure if he understood any of it. He took another step closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I'm sorry if you thought that," he whispered, placing his forehead against mine. "I've had a lot on my mind lately and haven't really been myself." I hugged him tightly.

"What's been bugging you?" He didn't answer me. 'I guess whatever it is, he doesn't want to share it with me.'

"I have to go home over break," he said suddenly. We broke away and I looked him in the eyes.

"So, most people are," I commented. He seemed uncomfortable. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Come on, I'll walk you to Defense

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was waiting on Monsoon to decide what the training session was going to be about. But I got tired of waiting and was being harassed by rabid fans. I'm trying to go through the earlier chapters and weed out all the mistakes. Nothing really important though so don't worry. There are probably tons of mistakes in this chapter. Edited Note Nothing big. Mwuhaha. Yeah right. The next few chapters got fucked up royally! cries


	15. Wishful Thinking

Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Wow. . . amazingly I wrote a chapter within three days of writing 19 :) I feel proud. This chapter is ummmm. . . pretty important. Read carefully :) And then review because you all love me a lot and don't want me to stop writing. Edited Note Lmao. Yes. You should love me, and love Smack and Monsoon at the same time

**Chapter 15: Wishful Thinking**

I began to worry about Draco. His distant moods were making me feel that something is actually wrong. But I know, if I ask, he wouldn't answer so I kept my suspicions to myself until I could confirm them. 'Like I'll ever have a chance,' I thought dimly, staring out at the grounds.

"Emi, what's wrong?" I turned to see Sarah walking in my direction. I was sitting in the Quidditch stands watching (well, looking) at the Gryffindors practice. Nothing really exciting was going on in the mock game. I kept hoping Potter would fall off his broom but no, it never happened. I was happy to have someone to talk to for a change. I smiled at her.

"Nothing. Just thinking about the holidays. I'm looking forward to two weeks of being held captive," I told her sarcastically.

"So, I take it you're not going home then." She sat down next to me and watched her boyfriend, Wood. He was the other one I thought should fall off his broom. Nothing personal, I just thought it'd be funny seeing how he _is_ the captain of the Quidditch team.

"No, there really isn't a home for me to go to."

"You can stay with me if you want." I shook my head.

"It's OK. I need to get some things done anyway," I explained. She agreed and left. The practice was over and I was left alone on the field. I looked around and my eyes fell upon the edge of the Forbidden forest. I couldn't see it very clearly, but it seemed that there was a black, shaggy dog sitting there, staring back at me. I closed my eyes and opened them to see that the dog was no longer there. "Now you're seeing things, Emily," I whispered to myself, getting to my feet.

The next day almost all of the school will leave, including Draco and I'll be alone . . . like I am now. I frowned at the thought. 'I hate feeling this depressed about everything. I need someone to talk to,' I thought desperately. Heading to the archery room, I hoped to find Riddle there, just so I can talk to someone. She can mean at times, not as evil as Nephiro but still mean, but she does give good advice sometimes. At worst, she could just make me practice more but even that wouldn't be too horrible. After all, it would take my mind off my problems and put it on a more demanding subject. 'Ha ha. Maybe I'll be able to take down Miketsu for good next time.' I unlocked the lock and pulled it open. Someone was lying in the middle of the floor, staring at the ceiling. The hair was dark but had no presence of blue streaks, so I automatically drew my wand out and pointed it at the person.

"Who are you and why are you here?" I asked sternly.

"Go away, Black. You're not scaring anyone," the girl said. She sat up and gazed at me. I recognized her immediately. 'Damn my luck! I didn't want to encounter her yet! I'm not ready for her!'

"What the hell are you doing in here, Miketsu?" I questioned, putting my wand back into my robe.

"I could be asking you the same question," she said smoothly. I suddenly felt highly uncomfortable being all alone with her . . . She smirked from her spot on the floor. I had no clue what she was doing there or why she was just lying on the floor. That seemed kind of weird to me. 'Maybe she really is a psycho.' "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you . . . yet." Yeah, she might say that now, but there's no way I'm putting my guard down in front of her.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" I closed the door and walked over to her, holding out my hand.

"Would you rather have found me in a bad moon?" she said, taking a hold of my hand with hers. I pulled her to her feet.

"Not exactly," I responded.

"Then don't question it." I shrugged my shoulders. 'Why is she being so nice to me all of a sudden? We weren't even talking for a while and the last time we did, she practically threatened my life. She's so weird.'

I leaned against the wall and slid down it. Nephiro came over and stood next to me. "How did you find out about this place anyway?"

"I stumbled across it one day and found Rilee in here," I said. "It was a total accident." She laughed. It was so weird. There we were, talking normal when we hadn't spoken in weeks. It was like nothing had happened at all, and that's fine with me. I'd rather be Nephiro's friend then her enemy.

"Accidents seem to be happening a lot lately," she commented. I wasn't sure how to take that. Was she trying to let me know she was planning something or just making a side comment? You never know with her.

"Yea. But I still don't know why you're here. How'd you find out about this place? I told you how I did but I have yet to here your explanation," I said, changing the subject away from accidents and back to her.

"The same as you –I just . . .stumbled into it one day when I was wandering around," she replied. I looked at her funny but decided not to make a comment about it. We were getting along and she was in a good mood. Why spoil it?

"So, what brought you here anyway?" I asked casually. I may have said it casually but I really wanted to know. Shouldn't she be off with my brother or something? I never would have thought her the type to go somewhere and just lay on the ground there.

"I was bored and wanted some peace. Your brother was hanging out with that pervert Flint and I didn't want to talk to him. Cedric was busy so here I am."

I eyed her curiously. "Cedric? You mean Cedric Diggory? That cute Hufflepuff who hangs out with Cho Chang way too much? Why would you be looking for him when you're dating my brother?" I asked her. She just smiled.

"No reason."

"Talk Miketsu. As the sister of your boyfriend, I have a right to know."

"Who said your brother was my boyfriend? Anyway, I don't feel like discussing this with you. We had a nice little chat, we bonded or whatever. Don't ruin it by worrying yourself with my personal life." 'Why, she's more of a whore than I thought she was.'

"What do you mean? Zandyr is your boyfriend, isn't he?"

"Not exactly." She pulled out a chain from around her neck. A beautiful white gold ring was attached to the chain.

"Bloody hell. I know Zandyr didn't get that for you, did he?"

"Nope." She held the ring and just looked at it. For the first time, I think I detected an emotion other than anger on her face.

"Than who did?"

"Someone you will probably never meet." She put the ring back under her robe. "Well, Black, I must go. This is getting too sentimental. It's like we're actually friends." She shuddered. "Do you want me to tell Riddle something?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "You were looking for her, were you not?"

"Nah, that's OK. I feel a little better now. Thanks for the offer though." She smirked.

"Bye, Black."

"Bye, Miketsu."

o.O

The next two days went past fairly quickly and soon Christmas Eve had arrived. I wasn't too excited, except for the fact that I no longer have detentions to go to. It was the only thing I was looking forward to. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only other Gryffindors left besides me. I tried to ignore them most of the time but it didn't work. They kept bothering me. Stupid people. Take away the general audience and they start looking to me for kicks and giggles. So I spent a lot of my time in my room, away from them.

I sat in the dormitory window, later that night, gazing at the ground. My attention was on Hagrid's hut. I may dislike him, but I feel really bad for Buckbeak. The poor hippogriff doesn't stand a chance, not against people who are associated with Draco's father.

That's when something caught my eye. There was some kind giant cat strolling about the shore of the lake. I stared at the golden animal, transfixed. 'Why the hell is there a lioness in England?' I heard the pitter-patter of Ron's rotten rat scurry into the room. I glanced about quickly and saw Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, was fast asleep and took no notice of the rodent. It climbed up onto my bed and watched me intently. I turned back to the glass, to find the lion again, but she was no longer there. Sighing, I got to my feet and screamed.

There, standing in front of me was a short, balding man, pointing my wand at me. His skin was pale, like a ghost and his dark beady eyes looked into mine with utter hatred. And Ron's rat was gone.

"I've been waiting a long time for this, Black," he bellowed. "_Dissipare_!" A red light shot out of the end of the wand and hit me in my chest. I yelled in pain as my whole body began to feel like it was on fire. It seemed like my bones shattered and skin split open in spots. It hurt so much! The spell propelled me backwards . . . and out the window.

A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn! Oh no!!!!! Emi went out the window! Too bad throwing people out windows is fun :) (I never said that). Yeah, so I sat down last night with Smack and we figured out the "plot" to Blackness, lol. Because I currently didn't have one. So, now I have a plan and feel a little more prepared for the future of my lovely fanfic. And yes, Nephiro's ring is cool :) Maybe in later chapters we'll go into more detail about it and who gave it to her. But not now. It isn't the time nor the place in the story to say that:) And hot damn this is a long author's note!!! YES! Lol. Only like 50 more words and I reach 2000 words :) Read these stories because they kick ass! Where I Don't Belong - Smack, Riddles - Monsoon, Learning to Live - Frabjous, and Cat Scratches and Cut - Ace of Spades. :) Actually any stories that are in my favorites are good! Yes! 2007 words!


	16. With Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac (well . . . He is also Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: This chapter made the word quota without using authors notes :) I feel semi-proud. Now school is pretty much done. I should be study for my global and science finals but I don't think I have the patience . . . I'll get what I deserve. Anyway. Chapter 22 is halfway done.:) Me and Jess have to get together to finish writing it. Oh, Blackness is now a co-written project. Jess has pretty begun to write almost all my chapters (with some help for me) because she is better at some things. She is more descriptive and I'm more dialogue. A good mix if I should say so myself. :) Ummm…. The editing process is still going on because Jess managed to actually find mistakes in chapter 1. sweats I thought that was the only chapter that didn't have any. cries oh well. . . on with the chapter :)

**Chapter 16: With Love**

I awoke in the infirmary, with the over powering stink of chocolate and peppermint. I opened my eyes a little casually peering about the room. No one was here, but the piles of flowers and chocolates at the end of the bed, which told me I had, certainly have had visitors. Along with the 'Get Well' presents was a couple nicely wrapped gifts placed in their own special part. I cranked my neck to see better but the pain was too much to bear. Whimpering I put my head back in the pillow. I sat there gazing at the ceiling with confusion. I could hear voices coming from down the hallway and getting louder.

"Remus- Listen. No student here has been taught the spell Miss Granger claimed she heard. There's no possible way it was Nephiro." I recognized the owner of voice was Professor Dumbledore, sounding cool and collected as usual.

"But, she has a different background. There's a chance she knows it!" Lupin exclaimed. "If, I might add Headmaster. Nephiro couldn't have been there that night. Miss Riddle said, her and Miss Miketsu were in the Slytherin common room the whole night," Snape's cold tone said. The doors swung open and the Headmaster and two angry teachers came in. I shut my eyes again, pretending to be asleep.

"I'm sure Emily can tell us what happened, can't you?" My eyes bolted open. How did he know I was awake?

"I . . . ummmm. . ." The words lumped in my throat, refusing to pass my tonsils. Dumbledore held up his hand.

"When you are ready to tell of course," he stated. "Answer this though . . . was it Nephiro Miketsu?" What a stupid question.

"Of course not," I told them. Madame Pomfrey bustled in quickly, looking pissed off. "I must ask you to please leave Professors," she commanded, motioning them to the door. The three left without a word.

"Wha –what happ-p-pened?" I asked, eyeing the green liquid she was holding.

"You fell out of your chamber window. Apparently you were hit with a pretty powerful spell that knocked you straight through the glass." She paused for a second. "If Miss Granger wasn't woken up by the incident you might have died of bleeding."

"Bleeding?"

"Yes. The spell is one that only dark wizards mutter. Its called a, disperse. The one particular one performed on you, shattered most of your bones and managed to open up all of your old wounds." I picked up my wrists and bit my lip. Things I wished I'd done washed back into my brain. Me, standing over the sink bleeding while my aunt barges in and calls me stupid girl for not cutting them the right way. That's OK, I know it's up the river to flow, not down. I shook my head to release me from the thought. "Those scars are gone now."

"It was. . ." I began.

"A while ago. Child you don't need to go into it. It's over and done with. I noticed them when you came to me earlier this year. They were made maybe a year or so back. Am I right?" I looked away, not wanting her to see the embarrassment in my face. "Never the less, drink this," she told me, holding me the green substance. "It will help ease the pain." I gratefully drank the yucky-tasting liquid. My body relaxed much and I smiled from the relief of pain (and the lack of feeling). "Sleep, you'll feel better later." And I drifted off . . .

o.O

_The place surrounding me was black. Black nothingness. I could reach but all I would feel is air. But I could hear sounds. I could hear the sound of my heart pumping and the quick breaths I was producing. _

_"No! Stop! You don't know what you are doing!" A woman's voice screamed. I turned my head around frantically. There was nobody there with me. _

_"Yes I do!" Yelled another female. "I know perfectly clear what I'm doing Annie." The woman's voice quivered but still was strong and intimidating. "Search the house. Make sure you do what was told." _

_"Cara! You can't be serious!" _

_"Oh yes, I can!" There was a small pause. "Avada Kedavra!" I heard a thump, and a sharp laugh that sent chills down my spine. _

_"We found the children!" _

o.O

I awoke with a start and sat upright, ignoring the few jolts of pain. Pain meant nothing at the moment. The covers on the bed were thrown about and I felt a chill from the cold sweat I was drenched in. The only light in the room was from the window where dusk was turning into night. The first stars were beginning to appear in the sky. I looked around the room and heard pattering on tiny feet; Scabbers. I spotted the rat in the corner, leaving the room just as a figure entered, 'Oh great . . . now what?' As the figure stepped into the light, I saw that it wasn't an angry short, balding man but something far, far worse . . . Nephiro. "Great, you're up," she "greeted"; taking a seat next to me.

"If you're here to make fun of me for falling out a window, then go ahead. I don't care right about now," I responded, lying back down.

"It's nice of you to give me permission to taunt to you but that's not why I'm here. I actually came to talk to you," she replied. Wait . . . what? Nephiro wants to talk to me? Oh god . . . what's going on?

"What do you want to talk about then?" I snapped.

"Looks like someone still got something up their butt. You'd think falling out a window and several days in the hospital wing would mellow you out but nope. Guess not," she commented. "I want to know how you got yourself cursed. Seeing how I was the prime suspect, I think I have a right to know."

"They blamed you?!" I asked in disbelief, recalling the conversation I overheard earlier.

"Lupin seemed to think I was the perfect suspect even though I was in the common room the whole time. I know some advanced curses but I'd never use them on you. It would be a waste of a good spell."

"Well, how much do you know?" I always wondered what she was capable of.

"Hmm. . . The Unforgivables, ancient lore the people in this place don't even know exist, and some other powerful charms. I'm not telling you all that I know. You'll run and tell Lupin or Dumbledore or you stupid boyfriend," she answered. I chose to ignore that.

"What did Dumbledore fill you in on?"

"Nothing. He asked me to . . . use my abilities to try and figure out what happened to you. I filled him in on most of the stuff. I could only tell the curse used, not who used it. Since the offender used your wand, we had no way of telling, at least I didn't."

"I think it was Scabbers," I said suddenly, eyeing the door. I expected her to say something along the lines of 'What? The rat?' but she didn't.

"I don't trust that rat. It acted very weird when it was in Egypt with Ron and it saw my dad. A sort of . . . paranoia. I think you might be on to something."

"Nephiro. . . " I trailed off. I wanted to tell her about the dream but I wasn't sure what it was. I thought I should figure it out myself before I tell someone else.

"Yeah?"

"I think Scabbers is an Animagus."

"That could be. Nobody ever said an Animagus had to change back," she replied. "But what made you think that?"

"The other night, Scabbers came into my room and sat on my bed, next to my wand. I turned around and when I looked back, Scabbers was gone and there was a man there. I think it was him who put the curse on me," I explained. I didn't know how she'd react. So far, she's been surprisingly nice and actually believed me but I don't know how long it'll last.

"That's interesting. Yes. . . very interesting. I should probably go now. Open your presents." She left. 'Figures. Just when we really start talking, she leaves.' I eyed my presents that were located next to my bed.

"I guess I should open them now," I told myself. I pulled myself up again, and grabbed a card that read "Get Well" on the front.

_Emi-  
I don't fucking care if you fell out of a window. Suck it up. You missed 2 lessons. You owe me double time.  
-Rilee_

"Nice Riddle. Just nice." I reached for the next one. I slowly ripped off the paper, revealing a half a dozen white roses. A note fell onto my lap. "It's from Draco." I said as I recognized the handwriting on the envelope. I opened it and read the letter.

_Merry Christmas! I'm sorry I'm not there today. I wish I were though. These roses are enchanted so they'll never die . . . like my love for you!  
Love, Draco_

"Like my love for you? Wow, real cheesy Draco." I sniffed the flowers and sighed. What am I going to do with that boy? After that I got pair of omnioculars from Zandyr, a copy of Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them from Harry, and Charms for Dummies: A Guidebook to Simple Charms from Lily. Two gifts were left. I took a hold of one wrapped in white paper and gold ribbons. I untied the ribbon and slid the present free of the paper. It was a gold journal with the quote: "It's not the blackness that consumes the soul, it's the soul that consumes the blackness - Anonymous" in black fancy lettering on the front. "Lovely quote." I opened it and saw the first page has something written on it. "_Here's something to write in, so you don't have to whine to Rilee- Nephiro_" "Good thing I got her something."

The last present was a small box, crudely wrapped. There was a small envelope under it with my name written in a fancy looking cursive. I slowly opened the envelope and took out contents. It was a magical picture. A group of seven people stood arms around each other, in a line, and smiling. I grinned. I recognized my father and mother right off the back. And of course James, who Harry gets his looks from. The others I wasn't quite sure about. I turned it over to find something written. "_June 23rd, 1980. The "Marauders"- James Potter, Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Cara Rushvish, Remus Lupin, Annie Confianza, Sirius Black, Alexzandyr Black._" My older brother was clung to my father's leg with one arm, and sucking on his thumb with the other. Everyone looked positively happy.

I reached for the box; I held it in my hand for a bit before I opened it hesitantly. Inside the box, was a black ring with that seemed like diamonds running across it. I took it out to examine it more closely. At one part the diamonds stop and an inscription was engraved. "_Spain- No matter what, I will love you. -Moony_". I almost dropped the ring in response to the message. 'This ring belonged to my mother.' I slipped it onto my index finger and smiled; it fit perfectly. The rest of the gifts were things like chocolate frogs and jellybeans. I got a few more cards. Not one more thing from Draco, which took me by surprise because he is usually so worried. 'Maybe, no one told him.'

A/N: Edited Note Yes. It's a picture. And Yes. The dream is different. No. She didn't realize the name thing. (blah, bad Emi). Yes. Peter is smiling in the picture, he is standing next to Cara :) Who wouldn't be smiling? Yes. The ring is signed Moony. Dun dun dunnnnnn. Get over it. It'll be explained. . . at some point or another :) /edited note

Ummm, you may all think. What's going on with Draco? Shouldn't he be there with his girlfriend? I have things planned for Draco, so don't you worry about that smirks evilly I just have to consult with Jess to see how we are going to "fit" it into the "plot" (We have a sheet of paper that says "the plot" on the top of it :) and we literally need to "fit" it in there, lol) Yes, apparently Nephiro strong in the magic area, lol. She is even more fascinating. But I won't go there. That's like too far into the future and I'm going to shut up now. Quote? You want a quote? Sure thang.

"Yes, I am back, I'm feeling fine, no, I don't need your help and watch it Granger or you'll be flying out the window next," I snapped.


	17. Connections

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac (well . . . He is also Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Wow. I kind of am skeptical about this chapter. It's mostly dialogue. Oh well. It turned at long. ) And that makes me feel special. Thanks for the reviews. I made 40! Wahoo! I'm not posting 23 until I reach 45 because I'm mean. Edited Note Yeah. This dream was changed too, along with all of Emi's convo with Nep.

**Chapter 17: Connections**

I laid my head back down and shut my eyes. But every time I almost managed to fall asleep more dreams about my dream would come. I tried my best to stay awake after about the third one, but it was hard. My eyes were already heavy and when I blinked I almost passed out.

o.O

_I was in the black void again, floating . . . waiting for whatever I was to hear this time. "Sirius! I can't let you go!" My mother's voice rang it my ears; it made them sing. _

_"I have to Annie. It's the only thing to do. If I don't catch Peter, I'll be thrown in Azkaban for sure," a male said. I assumed it was my father. _

_"You'll be put in Azkaban anyway if you do what I know you're thinking about doing." "I promise I won't kill him." _

_"Oh, what you can do to him, will be much worse than killing him." I heard them laugh, but it stopped quickly. The sounds of a bird flapping its wings started. "Oh no." _

"It's from Dumbledore. He says he feels Harry will be safer at his Aunt and Uncle's house." The letter smacking the floor made a loud noise and my dad let out a cry of aggravation. 'Dammit! I wish I could see!' "Those people hate wizards! You saw how they were at Lily and James' wedding! I should have cursed them when I had the chance!"

_"Siri! Calm down! You're scaring the children." There was a pause. "Daddy is just kidding sweeties." _

o.O

My eyes shot up. 'This is insane. I can't keep having these or I'll never get any real sleep!' I heaved a sigh and rolled onto my side. The photo I got bugged me. I moved the candle closer and took it back out of the envelope. I stared at it, taking in every detail about it. My father was a tall, good-looking man. He had black hair, like mine, that needed a haircut and brilliant electric blue eyes. My mother stood next to him, smiling at him, then to Lupin, looking like this was the happy moment of her life. She had short dark brown hair that was layered and went to about her ears. The hazel eyes, gazed out at me for a second, before returning to staring at my father. Lupin, seemed a bit nervous, had his short medium brown hair, slicked back, with some pieces loose in the front. The blond next to him was resting her head on his shoulder, with her eyes shut. She was very beautiful, and I can't see why people didn't say that she was the prettiest at Hogwarts. . . I flipped the card over to see the name again. "Cara Rushvish. . . Cara." My eyes lit up as I realized it was the name from my dream. It was what my mother had called her killer!

The space that should have been occupied by a man named Peter Pettigrew was empty. I glanced about the photo and found a short, stubby looking male, was a face that reminded me of a chipmunk, poking his head out from behind a tree. He is hiding? Why? I put the picture away and covered myself with the blankets, my mother's face still shining brightly in my mind. I slept. Madame Pomfrey let me leave the next morning. I carried all the candy and Christmas presents in my arms and slowly made my way to the common room. Peeves stopped me when I was almost to my destination.

"Awww, look at the ickle girl," he taunted.

"Shut up, Peeves," I said, rather annoyed with the fact he was bothering me.

"Is the ickle girl upset about her window?" I dropped my stuff and sighed. Peeves just laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry _Blackie_." My eyes traveled up to the transparent figure.

"You better leave before I figure out a way to kill you again." His face froze. I gave him a not-so-nice gesture and collected my stuff.

"Stay out of my way." He left me alone and I returned to the tower without any more interruptions. Harry, Ron and Hermione stood up when I entered the room.

"Emi! You're back! How are you feeling?" Harry asked.

"Do need any help?" Ron questioned.

"Oh, you are alive . . ." Hermione mumbled.

"Yes, I am back, I'm feeling fine, no, I don't need help and watch it Granger or you'll be flying out the window next," I snapped. Hermione turned and sat back down. 'That's right. Back off bitch.' Ron and Harry proceeded to ask me question upon question though, of course I ignored them, as I traveled to the stairs.

I turned to them. "Stop following me. Now." They looked a little crush, but I send them a glare. I made my way up the staircase alone. I plopped my stuff on my bed and grabbed the photo from inside of my robe. I stared at it for a bit, then hung it up on my headboard. I turned to leave, when I let out a scream. Scabber's could be seen stopping in the middle of the room, frozen with what I figured to be fear. I grabbed my wand and made my way towards him. He bolted out of the door, and I followed. I bounced down the stairs, trying to catch the bloody rodent; Crookshanks was at my heels.

"What's the matter?" Ron said as I looked around the common room. The cat was sniffing out Ron's rat. Something moved in his pocket and my eyes widened. The rat popped its head out and let out a squeak; my eyes widened. "Scabber's won't hurt you."

"I know that you git," I said. Sighing, I put my wand in my robe and walked away.

o.O

Later that day I began to feel like a caged bird, with just sitting around the common room. Deciding that I'd probably die of boredom from listening to the "trio" drone on about something I didn't care about, I grabbed my picture and I went to sit on the front steps. I was alone for a while, sitting there, watching the big shapes of the dementors move around, until Nephiro showed up.

"Hey Black," she said.

"Hey Miketsu," I replied back.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I fell out of a window. You?"

"Like crap. Cedric and Zandyr are gone," I chuckled. Nep is so . . . weird. "And Rilee isn't much fun sober, no one else is here."

"I hear ya. I'm so sick of listening to Hermione." I began to mimic 'Mione. "But Ron! You should do your homework! Not try to do Harry in the ass!" She stifled a laugh.

"My house is pretty empty except for some 5th year that doesn't talk and Riddle. I've got it easy." "You suck. So. . . anyways. How was your Christmas?"

"Interesting."

"Define Interesting."

"Just different because my friends from home aren't here," she complained. I stayed quiet. "Did you like your presents?" I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 'Nephiro is being nice again!'

"I guess so . . . Draco gave me never dying roses."

"Awww, like his love for you. And to think Zandyr only got me a ring."

"Wait. . . he got you a ring? After you confessed to me you've technically been cheating on him?" I couldn't believe it!

"Yeah. One of those love, loyalty, friendship things."

"Well, he got me a pair of omnioculars. It makes me feel bad that I only got him an apple," I told her, smirking. Zandyr wasn't really worth my money. He should be happy I even got him something.

"What, no oranges?"

"Zandyr doesn't like oranges."

"What?" She looked mildly confused for a second, and I just rolled my eyes. "Oh well. What else did you get?"

"Well . . . I got the journal from you. Thanks by the way." She nodded. "I also got this weird ring. There was no note. I don't know who it's from." I slipped off the black ring and handed it to her. She inspected it closely.

"Interesting inscription." I nodded. "You don't think it might be your mother's engagement ring?"

"It might be. But I'm not even sure if they even got engaged."

"It could be a sick joke," she commented, giving me back the ring. "I mean, someone out there doesn't seem to like you."

"I don't know. It could be from my dad . . . or the guy from Christmas Eve. Freakin' Harry got a Firebolt." She looked mad for a second but then smiled. 'She is so messed up!' There was silence between us from a while. I looked out over the grounds that were covered with snow. Hagrid's hut had a fire burning in and you could see him comforting Buckbeak inside. I frowned thinking about the poor animal. Draco messes up the dumbest things. I should have told his father that his son is a dumbass. The dreams played in my head again. The first one was the one that bothered me the most. Cara? If she was a friend of my dad . . . then why . . . And what was with that Peter dude, it made me think. I felt that I should have known him from somewhere, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. It was kind of like me seeing Lupin. It sent me down memory lane except I can't find the memory for the life of me.

"Miketsu. . ." I trailed off.

"Yeah, what?"

"I got this picture . . ." I stopped and gazed at her, taking out my photograph. "It has my father and some of his friends in it."

"So?"

"Have you ever heard of Peter Pettigrew?" She shook her head 'no'. I gave the picture to Nephiro and she examined it. Every now and then she would flip it over and looked at the names written on the back.

"But why is he hiding?"

"I don't know. But he is familiar looking." She shrugged.

"I don't know why you are showing me this Emi. Does this have to do with the other night?" Christmas Eve!

"That guy! Peter! He has the same face as the guy that attacked me!"

"But why would a friend of your father be attacking you?" My planned had failed. Maybe it wasn't the same guy.

"I'm not entirely sure . . ." But that's my reasoning behind this Cara chick

"So, what do you think it means?"

"I have no idea. Maybe the two have nothing to do with each other." I began to loose hope in finding any meaning to this.

"No, no, no. They have a connection. We just don't see it yet." She looked like she was thinking about something. "You said this guy, Peter, looks like the guy in your room right?" I nodded. 'Where is she going with this?' "Maybe it was. 'Peter' is an Animagus. 'Peter' must be Scabbers."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Maybe, but that still doesn't explain why my dad's friend would try and kill me," I replied, grimly.

"Perhaps, he, like everyone else, thinks your dad is guilty. He was with James so he was probably James' friend. Is it that hard to believe that that could happen?" 'Dammit! I hate it when she is right!'

"I guess that could happen."

"But the real question is, how can we find out if he is an Animagus?" she asked.

Then I remembered something from the first day of classes. "McGonagall is an Animagus. Maybe she heard about an Animagus of a rat and a guy named Peter!"

"But will she tell us?" Nephiro questioned.

"Why wouldn't she? Let's go!"

We ran back into the school in a hurry, only to bump into a teacher, it wasn't the one we needed to talk to.

"Miss Black," Lupin began.

"Later, I am busy," I told him, walking past him. 'Lupin isn't worth it.' Nephiro stood still though. "Come on, Miketsu."

"Miss Miketsu, you know perfectly well that you are not suppose to be roaming the grounds, ever. Especially at night." He looked sort of scary. The lights were low and the way it hit his face made him half hidden in shadow. The bags under his eyes made his skin look paler than usual. Yes. Creepy.

"I wasn't on the grounds. I was on the steps. Back off," she sneered. Lupin just smirked. I kept my mouth shut; this wasn't my argument.

"Both of you are wanted in Dumbledore's office. Follow me." He turned and walked in the other direction. I shrugged and followed.

"Who put the stick up his butt?" I whispered to Nep.

"Snapoe," she replied. "Last night." I laughed lightly. Lupin turned his head and sent a death glare to both of us. We went on quietly, I wasn't going to say anything. More detentions were something I wasn't looking forward to having again. He stopped in front of the stone griffin.

"Chocolate Bon Bons," he whispered. The statue began to move up in a spiral motion, reveling a set of stairs. "Well, get on them!" We nodded quickly and stepped onto the staircases; up we traveled, leaving Lupin on the ground.

"What do you think he wants?" I asked as we approached the top. She rolled her eyes.

"You really are dumb sometimes Black. I feel stupider by the minute when I'm around you," she stated, grinning.

"I love you too Nephiro." The stairs came to a stop and I saw Professor Dumbledore sitting at his desk. He smiled and motioned for us to take a seat.

"I hate this office," Miketsu hissed as she brushed past me. Yea. I followed in Nep's footsteps and sat down in a comfy chair across from the old fart.

"Now, Miss Miketsu. Have you thought of any new ways to find the man from the other night?" Dumbledore said. She shook her head 'no'. He frowned a little and continued on. "Can you please describe the incident, Emily?"

"Sure. Well, I was. . . err . . . looking out my window when Scabbers came in." 'Why do I have to tell this again? Oh please.' I shot Nephiro a look and her eyes darted to the Headmaster.

"It was Scabbers. He is an Animagus," she blurted, smirking.

"I see. And, may I ask how you derived at that conclusion?"

"When I turned back to the bedroom, and saw a funny looking man, I noticed that blasted rat was no where to be seen. It' the only logical explanation." I took a breath.

"Hmmm . . . what else have you two figured out?" His glasses slid down the bridge of his nose, as he gazed at us. We looked at each other and I gulped.

"Nothing, sir."

"Then you girls are free to go." We started to get to our feet. "And, please, don't mention this whole ordeal about the window to anyone that wasn't here. Not even Mr. Malfoy, Glasgo and Diggory." Nephiro's face sort of lit up at the mention of Zandyr and Cedric. 'Haha. Nep is a riot.'

"We'll see McGonagall tomorrow," Miketsu told me as the stairs spiraled down. "Or when we get a chance."

"Alright."

"Oh, and you missed your lesson with Riddle again." Oh great.

"That was tonight?"

"Yup."

"Shit. I guess I should see if she is still there. Cya, Nep!"

"Bye, Emi." And we parted our separate ways.

A/N: Yup. They called each other by the nicknames . . . scary, no? I have nothing really to say except Nephiro is cool.


	18. Infirmary Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac (well . . . He is also Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: And I'm posting this before I said I would. Be happy. Omigod. If you have had the pleasure of reading Order of the Phoenix, I'm sure you've come across the small dilemma I have with Emi BLACK and Draco MALFOY. nods I am fully aware of it and I plan to keep writing as if I have no clue they are umm… yeah, related. She will find out eventually. And it will suck. But for now smiles Pretend you don't know it. Anyway. Monsoon and her friend Jenna help me with this chapter. Haha. We use AIM and did "on-the-spot-thinking". It's great! I have more than dialogue in this one. Enjoy!

**Chapter 18: Infirmary Again**

When I got to the archery room, the door was unlocked. Confused, I pulled out my wand and slowly opened the door, peering in. It swung open and revealed a room devoured in complete blackness, except for the spots here and there where the light from the hallway hit. I could see the shape of Rilee sitting in the middle on the floor; her back turned towards the door. "Rilee?" I whispered. She didn't flinch; she didn't speak. I walked in a little and stopped, to let the door close behind me. She still hadn't made any movement. Maybe she was sleeping? Ha. Fat chance. "Rilee?" I said again, hoping this time I'd get some kind of response. I walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Slowly she turned around and I stepped back in horror. Rilee's face was covered in blood and her hair was matted in the same thick substance. "Merlin! What happened to you Riddle?" I crouched down to her face level. Rilee tried opening her mouth but it was caked with blood and hard to move. She moved her forearm to her lips and wiped her mouth. She pulled the cloth away and stared at it. Then, she tried to stand up but wobbled in the process. I grabbed a hold of her arms and helped her to her feet, still holding them to keep her standing. "Nod if you want me to take you to Madame Pomfrey's." Rilee straightened her shoulders as best she could and kept her head still. Slowly she shook her head spraying droplets of blood onto me.

She tried to speak and managed a small croak, "Just take me to . . ." Rilee's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed.

"Shit! Riddle! Wake up!" She gave no response and her body remained limp in my arms. Panic rushed through me. I began to approach the door and found the extra weight of Rilee too much to bear. I laid her back on the floor and flung the door open. The hallway was empty like always. "Someone! Come quick! Help!" I yelled as loud as I could. I heard footsteps further along down the corridor but they weren't going fast enough. 'They mustn't have heard me' I yelled again. The footsteps started to quicken. "Hurry! Please!" I dragged Rilee out of the room and locked the door behind me as the footsteps drew nearer. Even if she is hurt, I can't let anyone know about the room. The person rounded the corner and I saw the built body of the hot Ravenclaw, Isaac Qwin, appear. He stopped running and stared wide eyed at me. "Don't just stand there!" Rilee's eyes flickered for a brief moment darting from me to Isaac before glazing over and completely blacking out. "No!" Isaac sprinted down the hall and looked at me for some kind of explanation.

"What happened to her?" he asked, sounding just as worried as I am.

"I found her in the hallway! I can't carry her myself!" His eyes moved from me to Rilee before taking some form of action. He bent down and grabbed her arms. He hoisted her into his arms, already soaked with blood. From where she lay before, was a large pool of blood had formed and was now spreading.

"Come on," he said quietly. I followed him down the corridor, our pace quickening with each step. Every couple of feet, you could see a new drop of blood land on the stone tiles.

We rounded the corners, each time they got sharper and more - well - deadly. They only time we slowed our pace was when we ran upstairs. With each step the blood flowing from Rilee's hidden wounds increased and covered the floor with even more filth. 'Filch is going to have a field day with this' I thought. Then it hit me and it felt like my heart stopped. My chest tightened as the thought of not making it to the infirmary in time flooded my brain. The world around started to spin and I felt I was no longer in control of my self. I stopped and tried to grip the wall for support. 'What the hell is happening to me?' Isaac stopped and turned to face me. "You okay?" I nodded my head but felt even dizzier.

"Keep going. She needs help," I told him quickly. "Don't wait for me!" He frowned but continued to run. I watched him disappear around the bend, the hall that contains the nurse. I leaned against the wall and slowly made my way, never lifting my back away from the surface in fear the world would begin spinning again. The trip took a shorter amount of time than I expected it too. I turned into the infirmary and saw Madame Pomfrey rushing around, trying to help the bleeding Rilee. Isaac stood there dazed until he realized I had made it. I was still gripping the frame, holding it tighter with every second fearing I might fall. My legs felt like Jell-O and it was getting harder to keep my eyes open. I felt faint, like someone had just smacked my hard on the back of the head and there was no stopping I what I know would eventually happen. I was frozen, scared to let go.

Isaac rushed over to me and picked me up like he had held Rilee. He walked over to the bed next to Rilee and gently plopped me down. "Get some rest, Black." I wanted to protest, but only had the energy to open my mouth. He just winked at me and walked away. I looked over at the busy scene next to my bed. 'I hope you live Rilee.' And I blanked out . . .

o.O

I woke up the next day. The sun was shining brightly through the window at the end of the infirmary. I rubbed my eyes and pulled my body up. Nephiro lay on the bed across from me, looking completely bored. She was tossing a small ball up and down, catching it with ease each time.

"I see you're finally up," she commented, stopping the ball and getting to her feet. I nodded and sighed. "Weren't you here just yesterday morning?"

"Yeah," I stated. "I'm beginning to hate this place a lot." She laughed.

"I can see why. Madame Pomfrey, told me you passed out."

"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" I spat. I rolled my eyes and feel back down to my pillow.

"She said it was an after effect of the disperse spell." I groaned. Great, more things to remind me of that.

"Well, does this "effect" last long?" I asked, eyeing her.

"She doesn't know," she answered grimly.

"Just whoopedy-frickin' doo! Just another thing to add to my worries!" I said harshly. My words were directed towards Nephiro. "Sorry."

"Whatever. When you get out, find me. I need to talk to you." I nodded my head again and watched her walked towards the door.

Nephiro left, leaving me alone with the unconscious Rilee. I gazed at the sleeping body, glad she was alive, but feeling guilty. If I had gotten there on time maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. I saw Rilee move a little, followed by a cry of pain. She sat up real quickly, and I guessed it caused more pain. "Shit!" she cried. Rilee clutched her arms and began to rock back and forth like she was a mad man. Her eye traveled over to me. I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it. Now isn't the time to make snide remarks about her. Her eyes moved back to in front of her and she licked her lips, still rocking. "Black," she said. Her voice was quiet and hard to hear.

"Riddle," I replied. My mind was racing again. Now what to do? She was awake and I have nothing to say that would make her feel remotely better. Most likely I'd make her feel worse. My throat felt dry and I reached for the glass up water on the bedside table. I watched her out of the corner of my eye as I drank slowly.

"Do me a favor, K?" I nodded but continued to drink. "Don't ever miss a lesson again." I refrained from spitting the water out. I forced myself to swallow and placed the glass back down. So I was right! If I had come to my lesson, this might have never happened.

"Dumbledore called me to his office and-" I broke off. I had no excuse. The lesson had started before I went back into the castle. I was wasting time talking to Nephiro. A new wave of guilt washed through me. This was my fault! She glared at me as I spoke, making me feel even more uncomfortable. Was she blaming me too? She winced just a little as she threw the covers off herself and swung her feet around so they touched the floor. "I'm really sorry Rilee." She gripped the bed and stood up.

"Bite me, Black," she responded.

"Wait a second! If it weren't for me Rilee, you'd still be there! Probably dead!" I let my voice rise. I don't care anymore. If she is going to be a bitch, then so was I! "You should be happy."

"I guess you didn't look at where I sat in the archery range did you. Didn't bother to glance at the ground," she sneered. "I was fine. There was no pool of blood until you came. I was doing fine. If you hadn't shown up I would have been healed in a day or two."

"Oh, I'm sorry for letting the emotion "care" take over me Riddle! I'm sorry I was trying to be a, what's that called again, **friend!**"

She curled her lip. "I told you not to bring me here but you wouldn't listen. So guess what now, I have poison flowing through my veins." I was angry but the statement hit me as a shock. She walked over to where her clothes were and turned to me. "Who ever said I was your friend Black?" Rilee limped into the infirmary bathroom and slammed the door shut. 'Just great. First the spell effect, now this. The day keeps getting better and better!' In a few minutes she emerged for the bathroom and glared at me again. She looked at the clothes she had worn yesterday. Madam Pomfrey has done as much as she could to get the blood out. "This is great," she said sarcastically.

I got to my feet and reached for my sweater that was taken off. The infirmary suddenly felt cold to me when she returned. Her abrupt hatred towards me puzzled my brain and I could figure out what she meant by "poison".

"Even if you aren't my "friend", I wasn't going to walk away! What else was I suppose to do?" My body felt hot and I had the desire to remove the hoodie I had just put on stuck in my head. "I'm happy that me trying to help someone gets me hated. I should try in more often." I began walking to the door.

"Whatever." My body wanted to punch her, like I had done to Nephiro, but my morals stopped me. She was injured and I shouldn't induce more of them. Yeah right. Like one punch would hurt her too much. I shrugged and walked out.

"Miss Black! Come back Miss Black!" I ignored the nurse's cries and continued down the hall.

A/N: Nooooo! Rileeeeeeeee! sniffles Well that sucked, lol. Oh well. Even I have no clue what happened to her. Monsoon and her evil secrets! Grrr her! Hehe. :P Anyway. The next chapter has the return of the other characters! Oh joy. Be prepared for that. What the hell will Draco do? Will she go against Dumbledore and tell him? What about Rilee? What exactly happened in the archery room? OK, enough questions. I wanna know what you think Jess, Monsoon and I will have happen. Let me know your prediction. :)


	19. Posse

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any other element of the story. Emily Black and her mother, brother (Zandyr), and Isaac (well . . . He is also Monsoon's) are my creations so don't use without permission :) Sarah (sweets), Rilee, Lily, and Nephiro own themselves.

A/N: Wahoo! :) I (well, we) got another chapter up! dances Once again, meeting word quota, without exceptionally long author notes. Go us! I let Jess type most of it, because I'm lazy. So the whole first three fourths were done by her pretty much. claps This is why she is co-author. Now. . . On with the chapter.

**Chapter 19: Posse**

I stormed out of the hallway, intent on finding Nephiro, ignoring the stupid nurse who was still calling after me. 'Doesn't she get it? I'm not coming back. She should just stop calling me already.' The first place I thought of looking for her was the archery room but I really didn't want to go back there. Not now, anyway. So I continued on my "quest" through the empty halls, not really sure whether or not I _wanted_ to find Nephiro. "Hey Emi!" I heard a voice hail from the opposite direction. 'Oh God…it's scar boy.'

"What do you want, Potter?" I asked, turning around.

"You didn't come back last night! What happened?" He caught up with me and looked at me strangely. "And why are you still wearing the clothes you wore yesterday?"

I smirked. "Oh me? I was just hanging out with Professor Lupin catching up on old times." He looked taken aback.

"What do you mean 'old times'?" he questioned.

"Boy, you're really stupid."

"Black! What took you so long? You weren't that injured!" I heard the taunting voice of Nephiro yell. "And Potter! Don't you have somewhere you should be, oh I don't know, messing around with Ron?"

"Oh Nephiro! I was looking for you!" I replied, my smirk growing at the angry look on Harry's face.

"You weren't looking very hard, talking to Harry over here, now were you?" she responded.

"I really don't know why you bother talking to Nephiro, Emi. You could have better friends than her. And have then Draco, of all people, as your boyfriend. You hang out with the nastiest people. They're in Slytherin, which makes it even worse," Harry said to me harshly, all the while looking at Nephiro disapprovingly. I glared at him, holding back my desire to punch him.

"And I suppose if she hung out with you, she'd be so much happier? Watch it Potter. You may have survived the **Dark Lord** but that's nothing compared to what I can do to you," Nephiro snarled.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," I sneered. (A/N: Hee hee) I remembered that line from one of Harry's rants about Draco. He says he hates him but I think deep down he really loves him.

"And I don't see you making all the 'right' choices," Nephiro added. Harry stood there, stunned.

"Oh, and the **Dark Lord** says to tell you hi and he loves you." He went red in the face and I held back a laugh. "Come on, Emi. We have an important meeting to attend. And we still have to round up all our supporters." She turned to Harry. "You know, like our Death Eaters but not because they listen to us, not the **Dark Lord**. They're our...posse."

Harry just stood there, dumbfounded as we walked away calling a "bye Harry" over our shoulders. "Nice one Nephiro," I whispered, making sure we were out of hearing range.

"He's just lucky I'm in a pleasant mood or I'd have put a hex on him that I'm pretty sure not even Dumbledore could remove," she responded, smiling. I used to worry when Nephiro smiled but now it doesn't bother me. I'm pretty sure whatever she's planning no longer has to do with my death.

"Why did you want to talk to me, anyway?" I asked.

"To tell you that we need to speak to McGonagall," she answered simply.

"About what?"

"It was your idea! Did you like hit your head or something? Man, you're even stupider than usual! Remember, we were going to ask her about the Animagus list? To see if Peter the rat was on it?" She looked at me, waiting to see if it sounded familiar or something.

"Oh yea…"

o.O  
(Nephiro's POV)

Sometimes I swear that girl is not worth my time. She can't even remember her own ideas! I mean, if I cared at all, I would say she worries me sometimes but I don't so she doesn't. She's just stupid. We continued on in silence. I really had nothing I wanted to talk to her about and I guess she felt the same. I mean . . . I could say something about the whole hunting of Ron's rat thing, or the letter I got yesterday, or even about the present my dad got me for Christmas but for some reason, I just did not want to tell her. So I have a lot to say, just not to her. Ha ha. Sucks to be her. Anyway, we walked to McGonagall's office. I had no clue where it was, she was the one teacher who hasn't sent me to their office, (Snape did once and I'd rather not go into it…), so I hoped Emi knew where she was going. Though I highly doubt she did but I followed her, nevertheless. She led us to McGonagall's classroom, which was empty.

"Well that was a huge waste of time," I commented. "Don't you know where her office is?"

"Fortunately no, but now I kind of wish I did," she replied.

"You two are just the people I was hoping to run into. I just saw Potter in the hallway and he seemed exceptionally disturbed about something. When I asked him what was wrong, all he could say was 'Dark Lord,' 'Nephiro,' 'curse,' 'Emi,' and 'posse' in ragged, angry breaths. Do you mind explaining that to me?" I heard McGonagall say from behind us. 'Great. Damn Potter. I should have put a curse on him, after all.'

"Actually, I do mind. I have no idea what you're talking about. It sounds like just another one of Potter's cries for attention only this time, he wants to get us in trouble, too," I responded, turning to look her in the eyes.

"Somehow I highly doubt that that is the case but I doubt either one of you is in league with 'He-who-must-not-be-named' so I will not question you further," she said. "So why did you two want to talk to me?"

"We wanted to know if you had a list of registered Animagus', professor," Emi informed her. .

"Why? What do you need with that? I'm certain neither one of you are on it," she replied. I held back a laugh with a great amount of self-control. 'Is she now?'

"We wish to see if someone is on it," I told her, smiling.

"Who?"

"Well, that's just it. We don't know who, exactly. We do know that his first name is Peter and that his Animagus form is a rat," Emi explained. "We were hoping to learn his last name."

"I suppose I can check the list. No harm can come by just doing that," she decided. 'Ha. Speak for yourself. You have nothing at stake here.' She went into her classroom and we followed hesitantly. I looked over her shoulder as she scanned the list, looking at the names, until she gave me a look that clearly said, "stop it" so I did, reluctantly. It was up to chance now. She looked through the list a few times before glancing at us. "There is no registered Animagus by the name of Peter whose form is a rat. You must have the name wrong."

"Or maybe he just isn't registered…" I mumbled. "Thanks anyway, professor. Come on, Emi. We've detained her enough already." I grabbed her arm and led her from the classroom.

o.O  
(Emi's POV)

Nephiro's grasp on my arm was semi-tight, and was starting to cut off the circulation a bit. We exited the classroom and I yanked free from her. "Now that just sucks," I said, rubbing my arm where she was holding. She just shrugged.

"Depends on how you look at it," she responded.

"On what? That was our only lead!" I reminded her. I felt kind of angry. Now I might never find that bastard. I twirled around and pounded the wall out of frustration.

"Well, now we have another," she told me calmly. I turned and looked at her with my eyebrows raised.

"And that would be?"

"That he isn't registered," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He still could be an Animagus, just not registered."

"It could also mean that he just isn't an Animagus too."

"Then, that would mean you're wrong."

"Wouldn't be the first time," I whispered. "I'm going to go back to my dorm. I have a Potty to yell at." I brushed past her and continued down the hallway.

I laid down on my four-poster and sighed. Now everything was screwed up. We might just be confused. Maybe it isn't the same guy; maybe I am stupid. Nevertheless, Nephiro might be right, he could be an unregistered Animagus.

The next day came quickly and I hurried to get ready in the morning. Draco was coming back today and I didn't want to look like a Muggle car had hit me. I put my hair into pigtails and threw on my uniform, followed by my robe. Looking myself up and down in the mirror I smiled. At least I look better today than yesterday. The common room was buzzing again with all the kids back from break. I got some stares as I descended the staircase, some meaner than others. Harry approached me at the bottom.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday afternoon," he stated.

"Apology not accepted. I'm not going to forgive you easily for judging my decisions. It's not your job to." I pushed him aside and traveled over to the portrait. The hallways weren't half as bad as the common room, but still too crowed for my liking. Everyone seemed to be on his or her way to breakfast like I was.

I walked into the Great Hall, expecting to see Rilee sitting at the Slytherin table with Nephiro, Zandyr and Draco, like they usually are but instead saw the space that normally would have Riddle in it empty. I walked towards my table but stopped. I saw, Rilee sitting at the Ravenclaw table with the mysterious Isaac. She seemed to be pretty pissed off, and he looked like he was trying to calm her down or something. It wasn't working. I sat down and Lily smiled at me from across the table.

"How was your holiday?" she questioned. I glanced up at her from buttering my toast and smirked. I wanted to tell her I flew a couple of stories out of the chamber window, but remembered that Dumbledore told me not to say anything about it.

"It was . . . motivating." My smile grew wider with my answer. Motivating my butt.

"Glad to hear that."

"Hey, thanks for the book. I'm sure it'll come in handy one way or another." Ha. A book of charms will come in handy for anyone. She just nodded and went back to chatting with Lavender. I finished my "meal" soon after that and got to my feet. I glanced over the tops of the other student's heads to the Slytherin table. Draco was there, sitting in between Crabbe and Goyle, talking with Pansy Parkinson. Pansy? Grrr her. I walked gracefully over to him and hugged him from behind. He jumped a little and tilted his head back some.

"Oh, Emi! I didn't see you coming!" he said, rather cheerfully. I eyed Pansy and made a face.

"No, of course not. You were . . . "involved" in conversation. I'll just talk to Nephiro then." He rose his eyebrows.

"Nephiro?" He looked down where Nep was sitting and watched. She had her head on Zandyr and seemed to be talking to him lazily.

"You two are friends now?" I replied with a smile. "Sit." I felt like a dog obeying his order, but I hadn't seen him in two weeks, so I gave him a break. I glanced about and noticed there was nowhere to sit. Pansy grinned. I stuck my tongue out at her. So, I settled for Draco's lap instead. It was more comfy anyway. He gave a startled grunt and then eyed me funny. "Sure you can sit on me."

"It was this or sit on Crabbe. He is sitting where I normally do." He just laughed. I leaned in close to his face. "I missed you." He spit out his orange juice and smirked. Scaring him is so much fun.

"Hey Emi! Come sit with us!" Nephiro yelled from her spot a couple people down from us. I slid off of Draco, told him I'd talk to him later and wandered down to see Nep.

A/N: I worry about my characters and their "decisions" sometimes. But, it would be exactly what I would have done. Sitting on Draco's lap. Mmmm. . . I can deal with that. :) Umm. . . I only got two reviews. goes to internet explorer, and clicks on the link to listed in her favorites Oh yeah. drools Haha. I'm still waiting for predictions.


	20. Denial

A/N: OK. OK. OK. The chapter that have major changes are. . . drum roll (this is with the new numbering) ALL OF THEM! Haha. Actually I combined a shit load of chapters in the beginning, hence the evil new numbering. 1 stayed by it's self, which I suggest everyone reread. 2 & 3 became 2. Nothing of any importance changed in those. 4 & 5 became 3. The Lupin conversation has some slight changes that hints are crap. 6 & 7 became 4. Dementor scene has been redone. 8 & 9 are now 5. thinks I don't think anything changed there, except I say that Zandyr's last name is Glasgo. 10 stayed because it was semi-long. 11 & 12 made 7. Over 3,000 words there, lol. And the rest weren't combined with anything. Ummm… the last couple of chapters have been totally screwed with. Certain things made issues. Like the dreams. Emi was only one year old! So I had to change them to a degree. Then I had to make something up so they can make a connection to Peter. sighs So, I suggest, rereading, 1, 3, 16, 17 and the ending of 19. Because this picks up exactly where that left off. If you really love me you can just reread the entire story! Minor things were changed here and there. So yeah. I'm done.

**Chapter 20: Denial**

"What?" I asked Nephiro as I approached her and Zandyr. She smiled at me as though she was plotting something.

"I just thought it was a little early in the morning for that," she stated. "Besides, it was making your brother uncomfortable." I rolled my eyes a little and watched as Nephiro returned her head to Zandyr's shoulder, patting it as though he were a dog.

"You two have room to talk. And since when do I care what bothers Zandyr?" I hissed. She narrowed her eyes and Zandyr sighed. I grinned and walked out of the Great Hall. Draco's, and many other's, eyes followed me out of the giant room. Stifling to myself, I started off towards the common room to ponder life. Monday's are the best for this because I have a period of free time. And free times rock.

I looked around my empty dorm and sighed. There was no one here to talk to. Not that I honestly needed someone. It just would have been nice, I guess. I took a couple steps towards the window, glancing hesitantly around. The panes that were broken from my fall had been replaced and it looked exactly the same as it did before. I sat down slowly and watched the people make their way to their classes. People are so pathetic.

I mostly sat around for the hour or so before heading off to Transfiguration. I mean, what could I do without electricity by myself? I didn't even have the first or second years to intimidate. During, McGonagall's class, I rested my head in my arms and spent quality time with my dreams. Lily nudged me just in time to scribble down the homework. "Ugh. I know nothing about this stuff!" I exclaimed, making a face at the words I wrote down.

"Maybe, if you were awake during the lesson you wouldn't have to copy my notes during lunch everyday!" she said tartly. I stuck my tongue out at her but I keep my head looking down the hall though. Draco was walking into the Great Hall, but himself. It didn't even faze me at first, but then it hit me as a bit out of the ordinary. Draco always had Crabbe and Goyle by him unless he was talking to me . . . I shrugged it off and took my seat. I ate quietly and got up as soon as I was done. Lily eyed me funny.

"I'll see you next class," I whispered to her. She nodded and I left.

I walked down to the fields in peace after my Transfiguration lesson and lunch. Compared to being stuck in that unaired room, the outside seemed nice. I took in a deep breath and strolled around like there was nothing bothering me. Or so I tried to make it seem to anyone who might be watching. The fact that Draco was by himself was getting to me. Maybe I should have stopped and talked to him about it. It's not like him to leave Crabbe and Goyle by themselves. They're too stupid. They could hurt themselves. And on top of it he had that wandering look in his eyes that reminded me so much of my brother's expression when something pained him. He kept so much stuff to himself when we were little, and the look was something I was used to whether I liked it or not. I stopped at the Quidditch pitch and stared blissfully as the wind blew my hair in my face. I tucked the pigtail behind my ear and turned, only to be startled by the gazing eyes of Draco. I jumped, but then laughed. He smiled a little.

"Emi... I -" He looked down. "Can we...um...talk?" He seemed rather hesitant. I eyed him funny and nodded in response.

"Sure Draco." He walked over to the depth of the stands and leaned lightly on one of the beams, grimacing slightly.

Um, if I told you something, just a hypothetical situation would you tell anyone? It's just hypothetical remember." He stared at the ground as he said that.

I watched him for a second, as he avoiding my eyes. I was beginning to think he didn't want to meet my gaze. "No."

Slowly he brought his eyes up to meet mine. "Lets say that a certain girl - er - kid had problems with an adult. But the adult has so much power that the kid can't do anything about it. Uh, what advice would you give the kid so that this kid has a chance to get away from this adult?"

"Advice? To tell another powerful adult. Say, Dumbledore, for example." He turned his head towards me, eyes blank. Maybe it was the way the sun was hitting his face, or maybe I overlooked it when I saw him this morning, but on his left cheek, sat a good-sized bruise. It looked hideous and more than a little painful. "What happened to your cheek Draco?"

He looked down quickly. "Uh, well say the adult in question won't listen to Dumbledore. Doesn't like him in fact. No, hates him. What if the kid doesn't like Dumbledore?" he asked, completely avoiding my question.

"Then maybe go to someone else. Nephiro's dad is high up there. Snape could help too. It all depends on who the kid trusts."

His eyes searched the ground. "There's a problem with that. This kid doesn't trust."

I sighed. "Then this kid should trust. There's nothing the "kid" can do against the adult unless they're willing to have someone help them."

"But you know how Rilee is!" He flinched. "Shit."

"Rilee! Are you talking about her and Voldemort?"

"NO!" he barked.

I stepped back. His eyes flickered with anger. "To say the least, I don't know how Rilee is!" He growled in frustration. "Ferget it." His eyes turned away again but mine didn't leave his face.

I took a breath, "Draco, tell me, how did you get that bruise on your cheek?" I decided trying again wouldn't hurt.

"It's none of your business," he muttered. He looked up at me, eyes traveling down to the ring that glinted in the sun. "Where did you get that?"

"It's none of your business. Come one. We're late for Hagrid's class."

He sneered. "What's he gonna do? Cry?" He pushed off of the beam and headed towards Hagrid's "house" quickly. Rolling my eyes, I followed.

Class was a little more interesting. Instead of us freezing our asses off, Hagrid had decided to make us a bonfire, complete with fire-loving salamanders. All we had to do, (there's always a catch, isn't there?), was collect leaves and crap. Draco stayed away from everyone else, alone on his own log, refusing to participate. After the first few attempts at getting him to join in, even Hagrid decided to let him rot in his misery. No one else seemed to mind his absence. I tried hard to ignore him, but it's hard to ignore someone's pain when you actually care about the person. 'Why must he push me away like this?' Hagrid dismissed us and I ran to catch him. He kept walking as I called his name. I repeated it until he turned around exasperated. "What?!' he snapped.

"What the hell is your problem?" I replied.

"What's yours?" he retorted. His shoulders drooped and he sighed. "Sorry," he said quietly.

"Draco!" I pleaded. He glanced up at me, his eyes full of pain. That look. I ran my hands through his blond hair and pulled him closer to me. "Tell me what's wrong! I beg you!" He yanked away from my grip.

"It's nothing..." He told me again. It's always nothing.

"No! It's not!" I cried. He stared at me in shock for a second. I just continued. "I'm tired of having to answer everything you ask, but you won't even answer a single, simple question!" He looked a little taken aback at first. People stopped walked and were watching us, like they did on the sorting night. Why were our fights so interesting? Nephiro and Cedric stood close to us, well, closer than the others dared to be. She eyed me strangely but made no effort to interfere.

"My life can't be summed up to answer one 'simple' question, Emi! I have so much going on right now, you don't even know!" I gave him a shove and he stumbled back a few feet.

"You're right! Maybe I don't know! But at least answer something other than 'Oh, it's nothing'!"

"You wouldn't understand!"

"Understand what, Draco! Understand how is it to live in a home where no one pays attention to you? Or hits you? Now answer my question!" I didn't mean for my voice to get harsh. I was starting to sound like Professor McGonagall. He took out his wand and pointed it towards me.

"OK then. I'm just peachy! Just fucking peachy!" I was about to grab my own wand when Miketsu finally spoke up.

"Is magic really necessary for a petty fight like this?" She laughed. "Put that stick away Draco before you poke someone's eye out." He placed the wand back into his school robe with little reluctance. I don't think even he wanted to piss her off. "Now let's sort this out without contact, shall we?" God... she is starting to sound like Snape! I gave a weak shrug.

"Whatever. I just want my question answered." Malfoy made a disgusted noise.

"I'm not answering it Black!" Draco yelled. I beginning to get tempted to hit him but resisted the urge.

"Now, now. Stop it." Nep guided us to a less populated area and smiled. "I'll be waiting over there. She nudged her head towards a tree. "Touch Emi, and you'll regret the day your mother first laid eyes on your father," she growled. "And I don't care if you are like a 'god' here, I'll still kill you. Or at least make you suffer." He stifled a laugh and she walked away.

"Just tell me. Get it over with," I snapped. He breathed in and released it.

"Fine." 'I win.' "I told my father that I have no desire to become a Deatheater." It came out in a slur, the words bunched up together. My mouth hung slightly open. He sighed. 'OK. Maybe I didn't win.'

"Oh Draco." I hugged him tightly, forgetting I was supposed to be angry with him, and hoping he wouldn't push me away like before.

"Don't be afraid of others, the only person who you can and should truly fear is yourself." He gazed into my eyes and I into his. His eyes were radiating pain, and hurt. Both bad emotions, and an even worse combo. I moved my hand on his cheek, across the bruise he refused to talk about it. "I'm here for you." I leaned in close and kissed him. Suddenly I felt an arm around me and I pulled away. Nep stood there smiling cheaply. My cheeks grew red.

"I take it you two lovebirds are done fighting?" She did not wait for an answer. "Good. I have better things to do than playing referee. If you'll excuse me, I have to find my own boy toy. One of them anyway. Bye." She waved her hand and then she was basically gone. How or why, I didn't know. Nor did I care. I had my Draco back.

A/N: Wahoo! Lol. The Draco thing is revealed! Everyone rejoice! cough Sorry. I'm done now. I'm happy the editing is done and over with. Those chapters will never be redone! YaY! wipes forehead I'm surprised my brain didn't blow up from thinking of things to replace the dreams with. And there is now a hole in the story smiles Cara. . . Oh her. She will come more into play in 4th year. But she will be mentioned at points. Pay attention to anything they say about her parents and their friends. I'm writing a side-story with Jess about them. Very interesting past they have. Thanks to Monsoon for helping me with Draco's part. But you're not getting thanks after this. :)


	21. Sharp Objects Are Bad

A/N: Yeah, so this took a long time to get out. I had to work up the initiative to actually try and type. It was semi-difficult because my computer is an ass and I no longer have Microsoft Word on it : So I had to use WordPad. So using my story bitches I got 21 out :) (Which would be 26...)

**Chapter 21: Sharp Objects Are Bad**

That night I tossed and turned in my sleep. Images of Rilee's limp body came into my head, the blood, the way her eyes just kind of rolled into the back of her head, the argument... It didn't really make sense anymore. 'Why am I worrying about this?' I thought. 'She doesn't consider you a friend, why should you care.' I gritted my teeth in anger. I tried to help! Why can't see she that! I'm tired of being nice to people only to wind up feeling like I just got hit on the back with a beater's club. I'm not going to sit back and take it anymore.

I sat up in my four-poster and looked out of my curtains. The sun was starting to rise and Hermione was already getting to her feet, stretching. I grabbed my night robe, slipped into and pushed myself up. It was early and I didn't need to be awake yet, but if I slept any longer, I'd go insane.

"You're up early, Emi," Hermione whispered. I glanced at the sleeping forms of the other girls. All three of them were still sound asleep.

"Yeah. I had trouble sleeping," I told her. She doesn't need to know about my nightmares. She shrugged and walked towards her trunk. Picking up my clothes for the day, I went into the bathroom and took a long shower. Maybe the water could wash away any of the guilt I had, it felt like it was covering my skin. I scrubbed my hand and lower arms vigorously, as though I still had the blood on them. 'Must...clean...' I thought, rubbing the washcloth harder than it needed to be, making my skin red with irritation. I gave up and got dressed. There was no use trying to rid myself of the feeling. It was there until eternity.

The others were up and chatting when I returned to the dorm. I disposed of my pajamas and put my school robe on. Running my fingers over the Gryffindor emblem I begin to think that I wasn't a true Gryffindor. How am I brave? I run away from the slightest things, as if some how Rilee is going to turn into a giant quintaped. She is a human being and I'm not afraid of her. I frowned at the thought. 'Maybe I am...'

"Emi!" I jumped at the sound of Lily's harsh voice. She was standing by the door, with her hands on her hips, glaring at me.

"What?" I asked. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I've been calling you for five minutes now. Take your head out of the clouds and come to breakfast." I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry." She narrowed her eyes.

"You need to-"

"Eat. I know. I just have something to do. I'll see you in class." I brushed past her and hurried down the stairs. The archery room had been where I originally found Riddle; maybe there will be some kind of clue as to what happened. My mood lightened slightly at the thought. I sneaked around the dungeons quickly, hoping not to run into a Slytherin. A Gryffindor down in the dungeons alone would mean prank time, and I am not in the state of mind to be flipped upside down.

The room was locked, which I took as a good sign. Checking to see if anyone was around, I pulled out my wand and said "_Alohomora_." 'Such a useful spell,' I thought as the lock clicked and unlocked. I twisted the knob and entered. The trail of blood from where I dragged her to the door was still there. Placing my wand back into my robe, I walked over to the center and stared. In the middle where she was sitting, was a large dry puddle of blood. Shutting my eyes, I took a breath. When I opened them, the blood was still there, I was still awake. "She wasn't fine..." I murmured to myself. "...Poison..." I looked about the room. Everything was in order; nothing appeared to have been touched in days though. Dust covered her bow and cobwebs were forming where her quiver was hanging. "What happened Rilee..."

The floor glinted at my feet and I leaned down to pick up a blade. "Did this cause all the damage?" I brought it close to my eyes and examined it closely. Tears sprang into my vision as the scene flashed before my eyes. It seemed like only a brief flash of light but I was able to see it all.

_Rilee sat on the floor of a large stone cavern. Around me was a couple of pieces of furniture, maybe a chair or two, a desk, and what I think is a bed. A long wooden case lay at her side, as she seemed to wait patiently. 'Right, like Rilee has patience.' I began to walk in the direction of her, but stopped myself. She was wearing what I had found her in ... Was this a memory? But how? At the other end of the chamber a figure stirred and started to move toward us. "Mornin' Zach. How's the hangover?" Rilee asked. _

_'Who's Zach?' I thought, staring over where she was looking. The male came out of the shadows, and I recognized him as the other Slytherin that stayed over break. _

_The older Slytherin glared at Riddle as she smirked. "Where in hell are we?" he asked, shading his eyes from the "glare" of the lanterns. _

_"The Chamber." she replied blandly. The one called Zach stopped and gazed. _

_"You mean-" _

_"Yes." came the quick response. "I had no intention of actually bringing anyone down here. However, you are the first besides myself ... and Potter ..." The ashened face student growled menacingly at the mention of The-Boy-Who-Fuckin-Lived. _

_He sat down next to Rilee and slid his hand over the wooden case, fingers edging slowly toward Rilee's uniform skirt. "Can we?" _

_"Only if you truly want to." _

_'What the hell? What are they talking about?' I looked back and forth between them, confused. She kept watching forward as his hand moved away and landed on the end of the wood. She bowed her head and stood. _

_"Yours is under the bed you were laying on." Zach got to his feet and walked back in the direction he came from. Riddle leaned down, untied her shoes and removed her school vest. As she unbuttoned her white shirt the gray tank top underneath finally showed through. _

_Zach came back down the walkway stripped off his shirt with a sword in his hand. "Ri ... thanks." _

_"No prob. I mean I've been itching for a good fight. Black isn't good for anything except humor. Pathetic humor." _

_I growled in my defense but they couldn't hear me. 'I'm gonna bitch her out.' Before me the two Slytherin's got into guarding stance with swords at the ready. They inclined their heads eyes not leaving each other's. Rilee came at Zach, so swiftly that I barely saw what she had done before it was finished. _

_A lock of Zach's dark brown hair fell to the floor with Rilee standing behind his back. "Come on, Down! You're the one that wanted to do this so get you're fucking act together!" _

_He pivoted around and slashed her stomach. She looked down in shock at her bleeding body. But before she could counter or block, another strike cut through her hair. Blood seeped into her blue and black hair, matting it against her skull. _

_She came to her senses and countered the next attack cutting Zach's cheek. They sneered at each other in abhorrence. _

I blinked and started slightly. I was back in the archery range, accompanied by a major headache. "Damn it!" I want to know what happens after that! I set the knife back down quickly and turned around to leave, wanting to be as far away from that as possible. Nothing really useful had come from this...endeavor, except that I have a clue what happened.

As I went to open the door, it opened from the other way and I had to step back as Rilee walked through the entrance. She stopped when she saw me and blinked twice before speaking.

"Black... " she muttered, venomously, almost snake like.

"Err- Rid - Rilee," I replied, unsure of what to say. "How are you...ummm... feeling..." She glared at me, and then looked away.

She cleared her throat, "Blac...Emi...um...I... I guess... I guess I should say... thanks..." My eyes grew wide as I looked at her in pure shock.

"Thanks?" She started to edge backwards at the small thank you she had given. She backed into the wall and stood there almost looking frightened but not quite. I smirked a little, and turned towards where the knife lay. "You should take care of that before someone else gets hurt. Tell Zach that sharp objects are bad."

She stared at me in a mix of horror and distaste. "How did -?" She glared at me. "You weren't in the Chamber when he and I.... well... how did you find out?"

I pointed toward the knife. "They work wonders no?" Rilee wasn't herself, the Rilee I know wouldn't say thanks if her life depended on it...did it depend on it?

"Get out," she growled.

"Why? I'm finding this rather interesting. Should I start to think something is going on with you two? Perhaps some strange erotic blood thing?"

"Get OUT!" she screamed, face red. I gasped.

"There is!"

"No."

"Then why are you getting all huffy about it?" I asked, or rather demanded.

"None of your fucking business."

"Touchy aren't we?" I was feeling...errr...rather –brave. Her eyes narrowed more and pushed off the wall.

"You're really trying your luck aren't you, Black? Remember last time you pushed my button too far?" I stifled a laugh.

"I haven't pushed any of your buttons." Rilee snarled at me, looking as if I was a giant Peruvian Viper tooth.

"Shouldn't you be at breakfast?" I questioned before she could attack me.

"Same question goes for you." She appeared to relax slightly.

"I was being Detective Black." I took a breath of air, puffed out my torso like I was a superhero, and placed my hands on my hips.

"You're such a frickin' dork." I smiled cheaply at her.

"Yes. I am aware of that. Now if you excuse me I have class to attend." I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. "And you should pick the knife up."

"Evil, horrid, fucking..." I walked out of the room with Riddle muttering curses at my back.

I took my seat next to Lily and smiled to myself. I had successfully pissed Rilee off and walked away without a scratch on me. "What are you so happy about?" Lily asked, ogling at my now happy-go-lucky state.

"I'm having a good day," I stated. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't get a chance to response because Professor Lupin walked into the classroom. He glanced at me, like he usually did and put his briefcase down on the desk.

"Good morning class!" He said rather cheerfully. I moaned quietly and slid down in my chair. Lily elbowed me.

"I'm not letting you copy my notes, so stay away you idiot," she hissed.

A/N: Haha. Oh what foul mouths they had. What was with the knife? What kind of spell was cast on it to make it do that? And how did Rilee get from the Chamber to the archery room without anyone seeing her? Wouldn't you like to know? Me too, lol.


	22. Confessions of a Strange Kind

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I had no idea where I was going to go with the story. I have a plot I just need to **_get_** there, lol. It's long :) Thanks to Monsoon (Rilee) and her explanations. You'll understand. I'm nearing the end. I'm only anticipating about 10 more chapters at the most for Blackness. Then it's the start of the sequel, Expanding Blackness. (Which I have started plotting, yay!)

**Chapter 22: Confessions of a Strange Kind**

Winter bitterness condemned me to the inside of Hogwarts. The weather wasn't looking to clear up anytime soon, so I decided to make best of my time and train harder. The month after break had past; it was going to be February soon. No news on my father, no news on Harry's Firebolt, and no news on Peter. No news on anything but my fighting skills. Rilee said I was starting to improve, but coming from her that could mean nothing. The only reason she realized I was getting better was because I was there early taking my frustrations out on the straw dummy, that hangs on a tight noose in the corner. It makes a very bad punching bag, because all the stuffing's come out and you have to stop and put it all back in, but it works when you need a quick vent. Sometimes I found myself screaming at it instead of hitting it, which just hurts my throat.

I kept running into Zandyr in the hallway, and it always ends badly. My reasons for not speaking to him were unjust and not right. Now, he seemed to be avoiding me, as much as I avoided him. My conscience had kicked in and it wasn't the Rilee incident I was feeling guilty from, it was my coldness towards a blood relative.

With great stealth and courage I managed to knock Zandyr's book bag open while on my way to Potions. He glared at me and I smiled back. He seemed to be taken aback by me trying to help him put everything back into it though.

"What are you doing?" he asked, in an annoyed tone.

"I'm being a nice person," I replied, handing him his dragon hide gloves.

"You have to cause trouble in order to be nice?"

"Listen, I'm only saying this once, so pay attention." He stopped picking up his spell book and looked at me. "I want to say I'm sorry," I put my hand up when he opened his mouth. "I'm not done. I was a royal bitch to you and after you apologized I was even worse. I understand that you were sorry, but my anger overtook me and I wasn't ready to accept it. Accepting things isn't something I do very easily these days. So-"

"I'm sorry too, Em," he interrupted. "As much as I loved to hear you go on about how you're are wrong, I have to get to charms." He smirked and waved goodbye. I waved back only to realize I too was going to be late.

I made it to the potions classroom just before Snape closed the doors. He grimaced and returned to the front of the room. No news on anything…

Later that night I returned to my dorm, tired and ready to pass out on my bed. There was a huge commotion in the common room because Potter finally got his broom back from McGonagall. When I had just finally laid my head down on my pillow I heard a screech. I shot up and looked around. Lily, who was sitting in the window, got to her feet and started towards the door. I followed her closely. Racing to the bottom of the staircase I saw Ron, holding a bed sheet, shouting at Hermione so loud that I thought my eardrums shook. She looked utterly confused and somewhat frightened.

"Ron, what-?" She began, putting down a book on the table.

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!" I pushed through the crowd and watched the pair. The sheet Ron was holding clearly had blood marks on it, how much was hard to tell though. "BLOOD! HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N- no." He put his hand out and tossed a wad of cat hair at Hermione's homework. I gasped and ran back up the stairs.

"No!" I said to myself. "That bloody rat was my link! Arg!" I knocked the candlestick off my nightstand and sighed. "Now, I'm sure we're screwed. We have no proof."

"No proof of what?" I glanced up and saw Lily striding back into the room, looking pale. I wondered if she tried to talk to Ron after I left. She seemed to usually calm him down.

"Oh nothing. Just rambling."

o.O

"He's gone Nephiro! Gone!" I cried to my friend, while pacing around the empty Astronomy tower. She sat on the edge, looking out over the land with an unreadable expression. "He isn't," she mumbled to me. I stopped and watched her.

"How do you know that?" I questioned. 'She is too mysterious . . .'

"I can smell him in the air still." Jumping down from the ledge, she sniffed the air. "It's as foul as it has ever been."

"What are you talking about?" I took a whiff of the air, and nothing smelled any different than it normally did. "Maybe you're smelling the hippogriffs." She sent me a glare.

"I am not wrong Black. Just trust me." I nodded slightly. "Now, I must go. My bed calls me."

"Bye." I murmured as she disappeared down the stairs. Inhaling another breath, I walked over to where Nephiro was just sitting. There was nothing down there . . . So what was she watching so intently? I turned to follow in Nephiro's down the stairs and go to bed, since it was after all, after hours, when something strange caught my eye. The Whoomping Willow, which was clearly visible from the tower, seemed to stop its violent thrashings. It was at a complete stand still, not even a twig move. I took a few steps backwards and glanced around the proximity of the tree. My eyes feel upon a moving object heading towards the old willow- a black dog. I stood there transfixed on the animal. Why was there a dog on the grounds of Hogwarts? I shook my head to try and get out of the dream I was having; this strange hallucination. The dog was still there and the tree was still frozen when I reopened my eyes again. It had parked itself and was staring at me. I stumbled back a couple of feet and let out a quiet whimper. "This is too weird." I glanced back at the tree before descending down the steps.

o.O

Potter seemed to enjoy showing off his "special" broom to everyone the morning of his Quidditch match. I saw Nephiro scowl at him from the Slytherin table. I laughed and went back to talking to Lily.

"I hope it rains again," I muttered under my breath when Percy said he had a bet going on with Clearwater. "Then he'd be in debt." I giggled, and straightened up in my seat quickly. I spotted Draco approaching Harry, with Crabbe and Goyle and smiled.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" He said in his loathing voice; it sent shivers up my spine.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry replied.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute-in case you get too near a dementor." I swallowed my juice and looked at him; he just winked.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy. Then it could catch the snitch for you," Harry sneered. Sweet Merlin! Did he just say that? Draco narrowed his gray eyes, and walked back towards his table.

The match went well . . . up till Potter caught the snitch. Why does Harry get glory for being a moron? Did he feel the cruel sucking feeling coming from those dementors? How ignorant can one get? Never mind, I have no desire to know. I was more annoyed at Draco and his "buddies". I was angry, but not willing to show it because I knew I'd turn it into something unwanted. I held my peace and kept smiling.

o.O

_My body felt warm, like I was slowing cooking in a pot of water. The blackness surrounded me again and I waited patiently for the sounds of my parent's voices to come, but they didn't. Instead all I could hear was the sound of people crying. _

_"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Annie…" Whispered a female voice. It croaked a little when it said my mother's name. The sobbing got harder and- _

o.O

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I fell out of my bed and let off a scream of my own.

"What in the name of Merlin was that?" Lily's voice cried out.

"Oy! What's goin' on?" Lavender muttered from the bed next to me.

"I'm going to find out!" Hermione threw off her covers and lit a candle that sat next to her bed, then walked out of the room. I grabbed a hold of my robe and throw in on while following her. Other people in the tower had the same idea as us.

"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!" I heard someone say as I made it to the small group that was watching the 3rd year boy's yell at each other.

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" Fred said rather cheerfully.

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy's voice rang over everyone's. I rolled my eyes.

"Perce –Sirius Black!" Ron cried weakly. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!" I gasped and tried to move forward, but Lily had taken a hold of the back on my night robe. I looked back and glared, and she just shook her head 'no'. My father was here and she wanted me to stay here! I started to struggle.

"Nonsense! You had too much to eat, Ron-had a nightmare-" He appeared to be uncomfortable. "I'm telling you-"

"Now, really, enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall stern tone said as she closed the portrait behind her. "I'm delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" His normal pig-head-ishness was back. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare-"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!" McGonagall blinked in surprise. I stopped my fight against Lily and gazed at Weasley.

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" Ron yelled, pointing to Sir Cadogan. "Ask him if he saw-" He glared at the redhead and walked over to the picture.

"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?" She asked- sounding annoyed. "Certainly, good lady!" The portrait answered. There was a silence. All I could hear was my heart, which was beating pretty fast.

"You- you did? But- but the password!"

"He has 'em! Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!" I smacked my forehead with my hand as the Professor came back into the common room.

"Which person, which abysmally foolish person wrote down that week's password and left them lying around?" Her voice shook slightly. The hush was back, until the squeaks of Neville broke out. We all looked at him, as he raised his hand, looking genuinely frightened.

Neville took quite a tongue lashing for McGonagall; I felt rather bad for him. Then to top it off, the rest of the Gryffindors seemed to feel uncomfortable around him. My father has apparently escaped again . . . if it was really him. I had my doubts. Maybe it was Peter . . . The tight watch the teachers were giving everyone bugged the hell out of me. It made it much harder to get to the archery room. I found myself going only once a week.

A couple of days later was another Hogsmeade tip and once again was left alone. Rilee was in the room like usual, and was fletching some new arrows. I went straight to the punching "bag" and threw a frustrated to its "face". Rilee looked up for a second a raised an eyebrow then back to placing the tip of the arrow on. "Angry about something Black?" she asked, sounding bored.

"No, everything is fine," I replied, landing a round kick to the side. Straw fell to the floor along with the cloth for the arm. I hit it again with my fists. Jab, reverse, punch, punch, backhand, reverse, jab, round kick, jab. Over and Over again, muttering curses to myself. "Stop-ruining-my-life-bastard!" I did a hook kick to the neckline and rip the tread that kept the head attached. It fell to the ground, leaving only the noose hanging. I wiped my forehead with my arm and tried to slow my breathing.

"Pick up the straw and do it again. Your punches are still weak," Rilee said dryly not even looking up. She pulled another stick from a bag and eyed it. Throwing it aside she continued, "Look, you're life is hell. So is mine, and most likely so is Nephiro's. Half the school could be going through similar situations." Standing up she brushed off her pants and stretched. She walked over to a corner and made some weird sign in the air. Quickly a hole opened then closed and Rilee held a black rectangle in her hands.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A computer. Now c'mere. I, surprisingly enough, would like to show you something. I've actually been thinking bout this for some time and I think it's time you saw this." I watched in amazement as her fingers flew across the keys typing in odd symbols that weren't even on the keyboard. Before I knew it a new screen was up and it had three pictures across the top.

The first picture was title Benvolio, a very Italian and good looking kid with big brown eyes and dark brown hair. In the picture he was smiling but there was something about his eyes that made it look forced.

The second and third were of two girls but they didn't interest me as the boy did. I kneeled down and looked over Rilee's shoulder. I could feel that she was tense with me so close so I backed off. She stayed tensed though and would not look at the pictures. "Rilee, what's- "

"These three are old friends of mine," she said quietly. Was it just my imagination or was Rilee's voice strained? "Benny . . . he was one of my best friends. Never complained about how the others treated him and was always helpful with History homework. I was crushed as were the rest of us when he died. Marc in particular." Taking a deep breath, she turned to face me, eye to eye. "I know what you are going through, at least the general idea. Your problem? Pathetic. That's nothing compared to his or the others."

I bristled slightly. I was not being pathetic. "So sorry that you think my "problem" is pathetic. What, pray do tell, was his? Didn't get on the Quidditch team?" Knowing what I said was wrong, but a mixture of anger and irritability was settling in my skin and I couldn't control it anymore.

Rilee's eyes narrowed and she slammed the top of her laptop down. "No he was harassed because he was gay!" She jumped to her feet and stood no more than two feet away. "All three were harassed. All three committed suicide. All three were my friends! If you die it goes on MY conscience!" With that she stormed from the room, slamming the door shut.

A/N: :)


	23. Ice Adventures

A/N: Continued from the last chapter. I need to pick up the pace and actually write the ending here soon. Meaning, Smack and I have to get together to write everything for it, 'cause I need her to do it. (Nephiro plays a huge part).

**Chapter 23: Ice Adventures**

Rilee left me completely stunned and feeling very immature. Harsh emotions means harsh words, and my particular harshness was not acceptable. I would have hit the straw dummy if it still hung, but the limp creation was still on the floor, surrounded by the yellow stuffing. I stared at the door for some time before chasing after her, hoping I'd find her quickly. "Rilee?" I cried, fairly loud down the abandoned hall. After a minute of waiting for a reply, I shut the door behind me and started towards the dorm to grab my cloak. 'I have nothing better to do than ponder life's existence. Why don't I do it where it's cold and wet?' I thought bitterly.

The common room was full of first and second years and a few others that couldn't go to town. I shrugged them off me as they tried to speak and made my way up the stairs. I grabbed my black cloak with silver lining and threw it around my shoulders and walked to the window. No one seemed to be out on the grounds, probably do to the cold. The Whoomping Willlow seemed to be back to it's normal violent self, thrashing about all alone, and at nothing in particular. Sighing, I slowly made my descent the Entrance Halls.

I ran past the dementors that roamed near the front gates and began to steer towards the Whoomping Willow, hoping I'd find that dog. A figure stood by the lake, in what seemed like all black clothing, but no robe or anything to keep them warm. "Rilee . . ." I whispered to myself and changed my direction. The snow crunched under my feet as I trudged through it to get to my acquaintance. She turned to face me, as I got closer. "I'm really sorry Rilee. I didn't mean to be so... so..." I glanced up her face, and then dropped my eyes back to the ground, unable to look her in the eyes. The ground showed an interesting view. It seemed Rilee had come out here to freeze to death. She had no cloak, no robes, and no shoes. Her bare feet were red from the cold. 'She must be in some serious denial or something.'

"Whatever Black," she responded quietly.

"Ri- you need to get warm..." I said quickly.

"No I don't" she replied equally as quiet. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," I stated, reaching towards her arm. She pulled back slightly, and looked at the lake, which was now frozen over with a layer of ice and snow. She walked toward it and sat down hard in the snow. Rilee placed her face in her hands and shook slightly. Not knowing what to do exactly, I removed my cloak and placed it on her back. I at least had my school robes to keep my some-what warm. Sitting down, I wrapped my arms around my legs. "I'm here to listen and to remain silent."

She was quiet for sometime, probably forgetting that I was even there. "I guess you never heard about my boggart fear." Her sudden speech spooked me. It had a husky, cold, hissing sound embedded in it.

"No . . . I never did..." I answered hesitantly. She grabbed her shoulders and tried to warm herself. She was now shaking and turning a slight purple, blue color. I eyed her, waiting to see if she would tell me. I had never thought that something could scare her. "Please, come inside before you freeze to death," I begged, trying to put an emphasis on dying.

"No thanks, not hungry mom." I glanced over at her. What the hell was that? She had moved swiftly to the lake edge and was playing in a small section that wasn't covered in ice. Her eyes were smiling but hurt. 'Oh great she's become delirious.'

I got to my feet and followed her to the edge of the water. I attempted to cling to her arm and pull her out but she moved again quickly and ended up just pulling me in with her. The cold traveled up my body, like suddenly the warmth decided to go on vacation. Gasping, I glared at her. I could feel my teeth start to clatter, and my bones shake. "But you need to eat something dear," I commented, remember her remark not to long ago.

"But I'm not hungry!" she said with force. Her voice had changed into a higher pitched tone. She sounded more like a 7 year old with a mother than a 13 year old at school. My eyes widen in surprise.

"You eat now, or you go to bed," I said sternly. My aunt said that to me once...

The young Rilee grinned. "Sleep!" She ran out on to the ice and jumped up and down. "Come get me!" No!

"Rilee Riddle! Get back here this instant!" I screamed as loud as I could. The ice under her made a slight bouncy movement. I looked around and saw no one coming, so I took a step. "I don't have time for these games!"

She laughed manically; or at least attempted to. "If you can call me by my full name than I'll come in. Hahaha, no one knows either."

She ran further out onto the ice and slipped. "RILEE!" I threw my arm out as if trying to catch her but she was too far away. I saw her slide across the frozen water and slowly come to a stop. Grinning, she stood up and took one step back. I heard a snap and the rush of water. It came to me fast. The ice had broken and the underwater current was running were Rilee now stood. "Rilee! Come back. Quickly!" I attempted to move forward a little but ended up slipping myself. My butt hit the ice below me hard and I groaned in pain. The sound of cracking was loud and I felt the ice move partly. Stiff with fear, I stared at the small split of ice coming out from beneath my body.

"Shit!" I yelled, coming to my senses finally. I tried to move my body away from the sinkhole. A loud noise erupted and I saw Rilee's legs be engulfed by the cold substance. A strangled sound emerged from her throat before being cut off. I didn't have time to react before being sucked into the hole I made. I cried out for help, but only managed to swallow the lake's fluid. I thrashed my arms and legs about, searching for something to grab on to. Water flowed into my clothes, making me heavier that needed, weighing me down. I tried to wiggle free of my robe, to rid myself of some of the overbearing load.

I could see a dark form far away under the water with me. I guessed it to be Rilee. I tried fighting the current to get back to the surface but hit the ice instead. I had moved away from the hole. Bloody hell! A pair of scalely hands grabbed my arm. I freaked out and flayed about, forcing the creature away. Muffed voices could be heard from the shore and opened my mouth to scream. A light above me gave me hope and I tried again for it. This time a strong hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me through a large hole. It all happened so fast . . .

My body felt so cold, so weak, I drew in a breathe of the air and coughed up water that I had let through my throat. My limbs shook with iciness and my teeth were so clattering like earlier. Never in my life have I'd ever experience this sort of feeling. Feeling of death...

I jumped as something was wrapped around me. Warmth. A blanket? No -a jacket. "Emi? Can you hear me?" I turned my head to see Lupin squatting next to me, and looking worried. I nodded in response and hugged myself tightly. He moved closer and picked me up. I began to struggle.

"No! Rilee is out there!" Farther down the ice, magic burst upward and Rilee was popped onto solid land. She sat kneeling catching her breath before sticking her head underwater. A large blue fin/hand thing shot out of the water and gripped her arm. I lurched forward but Lupin held me back. He watched fascinated. "Lupin, do something!" Another shape appeared by Rilee, and was slowing making it's way to her.

"She is being taken care of," he replied. He turned and started towards the school steps, still carrying me. I saw in the distance Rilee struggle against the figure. They grew to small dots as the doors of the Entrance Hall closed behind us. Lupin walked briskly down the halls of the school, seeming to be headed towards the infirmary. Kicking the door open he practically ran to the closest empty bed and set me down. I was no longer shaking but I still felt cold as if there was a dementor standing next to me. Madame Pomfrey bustled out of her office with an aggravated sigh, but her annoyed look turned to an array of emotions when her eyes feel on me.

"What in Merlin's beard?" She exclaimed, rushing to the opposite side of Professor Lupin.

"I found her in the lake," He said hoarsely. "Miss Riddle should be following soon. Mr. Qwin took the liberty of bringing her."

"The lake. Oh you poor child," Pomfrey whispered to me. She pulled open a drawer that located between my bed and an empty one, and pulled out a bar of chocolate. "Eat all of it this time Emily. No throwing it away." I made a face at the bar of fat and took it from her.

"Yes, ma'am." I ate my disgusting chocolate bar in silence, only looking ahead of me, ignoring the two adults we were speaking with each other. It was about 10 minutes or so when Isaac burst in with a limp Rilee in his arms. "Pomfrey! We're back!" he said loudly. The nurse turned and faced the two teenagers.

"Quiet Isaac. I'm right here." She hissed. "She fell in too? My this child is prone to getting injured." She shook her head and I looked at her confused. 'How often was Rilee here?'

Isaac set Rilee down on the closest bed and sat down beside her. He was worried. I could tell by the way he gazed at her with that pleading look. The way he held her. If Rilee was alive -well of course she is alive- awake, I should say, she would probably push him away. This was the second time he had saved her. At least, the second to my knowledge.

"Isaac," I called out quietly. He looked up and walked over to me.

"Yeah?" he asked weakly.

"She's okay right?" He wouldn't meet my gaze and stayed quiet. "She's still alive right?" His silence was scaring me. "Answer me!"

"It's hard to tell. She's - well, her body has been injured so many times that another intense attack could crash her for some time. Truthfully, this will be tougher for her to handle than when she got sliced up. I don't know what happened then and I don't know all that happened this time but I do know that Rilee won't wake up for at least a week." He had said it fast but clearly. I had heard every word -every bloody word. Why do things like this happen to Rilee?

I lay back down on my bed and rolled over so I was on my stomach. Placing my head into the pillow, incasing it was my arms, I screamed, letting my voice get engulfed by the cotton fabric.

A/N: Parts of this were meant to be silly, lol. I'm so lazy. Another AIM production. :)


	24. Old Stuff

A/N: I'm soooo sorry about the delay. Writers block. :( Haha. There's probably tons of mistakes in this, but hey, nobody is perfect... I've been rereading the beginning, and it looks like I have to go through it again. rolls eyes Joy. But no major changes, just grammer and maybe sme rewording.

Thanks to:  
Monsoon: My only reviewer at this very moment, lol. :P

**Chapter 24: Old Stuff**

I felt odd being out of bed. It's been almost three days since the incident with Rilee and the lake. My legs still feel like there are no bones in them, and I haven't gotten the feeling in my toes back. Other than that I'm fine. Just as precaution though, Madame Pomfrey requested that I stay inside for the next week, not even going out for classes. Which is fine with me since I miss Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology- two of my least favorite classes. Instead, I was forced to sit and watch Professor Lupin teach his classes. Pretty boring. I was even used as an "assistant" once or twice. I'm sure that really helped my standing within the school.

Every time I walked past the infirmary, a shiver was sent down my spine. The scene with Rilee played in my head like a broken record player, over and over again. The entire staff asked me tons of questions about what happened. What? Why? How? And all that good junk. I refused to answer and told them it's up to Rilee. It's her story to tell, not mine. The questioned aroused in my head: What **did** happen? I wasn't quite sure myself. Maybe that wasn't really Rilee. I push it to the back of my mind quickly every time it started to bother me. It seemed all my friends… or in Rilee's case, acquaintances, have dark secrets about them. Nephiro with her past, Draco with his family, Lily with her mom, hell, I even have a secret.

"Miss Black, will you stay behind? I need to speak to you," Professor Lupin asked, as his fourth year students filed out of the classroom. I picked myself out of the desk I was sitting in, and waited for everyone to leave. Some turned their heads and made a unmistakable expression of disgust. It was almost lunchtime, and the weather was nice. Not to cold and not warm. But I was tuck indoors because of the bloody nurse. I sighed and walked over to his desk, stuffing my drawing I was working on into my bag. Lupin's skin was pale. The veins in his face were visible and the sags under his still grew darker. For the first time, I wondered if he was all right. He smiled at me and opened a drawer. He pulled out a small photograph, slightly torn and old, like the one I had received on Christmas. He handed it over to me slowly, and I took a hold of it like it was a piece of thin glass. "I figured you might want this."

The picture was faded here and there, but there was no mistaking what it was. My parents. My father, seeming happy, with his arm around my mother's waist. My mum, who only came up to about his chin, born medium brown hair and hazel eyes that glowed slightly. My dad's hair was short, but still looking like it needed to be cut with his piercing blue eyes shining at the camera. It was peaceful. And a lot different from what I expected them to seem. I glanced back up at Lupin, who was sitting in his chair, feet on the desk and hands behind head, gazing up at the blank ceiling.

"Why did you think I wanted this?" I questioned. His head turned toward me and he frowned.

"Was I wrong to think you'd want a nice pictures of your mum and dad?" He raised an eyebrow, and reached to take the picture away. "I'll just take it back and put it in my album, where is belongs." I took and step away.

"No. I want to keep it," I replied.

"That's how I thought it would be." He pushed up his sleeve and revealed his watch. "You better get going are you'll be late to your next class."

"Huh?" I looked at the clock on the wall, and my eyes widen. I was going to late. "Thanks Professor!" I cried, while racing out of the classroom.

I walked briskly down the hallway. I had time to run to my room and get my supplies for potions, and barely make it to class. Snape could possibly ignore me for being late this once. I stared at the photo while pushing thru the crowd. The background looked as if they were standing by a beach; possibly the same one from the other picture. My parents stood there looking at me and blowing kisses. I laughed and slipping it into my bag. I'll deal with it later.

"Emi! Wait up!" I turned to see my blond boyfriend, running in from Care of Magical Creatures. I smiled and hugged him. His breathing was fast and I could hear his heart beating when I placed my head on his chest. The bruise from Christmas was no longer there and all that remained was a small cut, probably smaller than a centimeter, next to his eye.

"What is it, Draco?" I asked, looking up at him. He placed his hands on my waist and gazed back at me.

"Why weren't you in class?" I grinned.

"Because I rather be getting extra credit by being Lupin's guinea pig, than going to Hagrid's horrible class," I replied dryly. Draco looked confused. "I'm not supposed to go outside yet you stupid prat. I was forced to be in Lupin's class, remember?" He let out an 'ohhh' and hugged me again. "Draco, we're going to be-"

"Hey, you lovebirds," a female voice cut me off from behind Draco. We parted and I looked to see who was addressing us. Nephiro appeared to his side, seeming to be pissed off. "I need to speak with Black." She glanced over at Draco. "Alone."

"Fine. I'll see ya later!" he stated, before turning around. When he was gone, Nephiro grabbed my arm and led me away from the entrance hall.

"I don't really have time- Ow! Lemme go, Miketsu!" I commanded, but she just kept on pulling. Finally she let me go. In front of us was the school library. I stared at her, confused, like I normally am. "What is so important that it's worth us missing potions for?"

"Screw potions. I have an idea Black." Nephiro looked evil. Her eyes had that scary confident gleam in them and her mouth was twisted with a weird grin.

"Does it involve me getting hurt?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes some. She turned towards me and sighed.

"You can be just as dim-witted as Pansy." I gasped at her insulting comment.

"I am not-" She waved her hand, telling me she wasn't listening any more.

"I think we might be able to find something out on Peter Pettigrew from old Daily Prophets." I raised my eyebrows at her.

"And how do you suppose we go about doing that?" I challenged. I scanned the hallway around us, looking for anyone that could possibly save me.

"Like this," she said, opening the library doors. As if she was on some kind of mission, Nephiro set off in the direction of the front desk. Madame Pince gave us an annoyed look as we approached her.

"Yes, ladies? What can I do for you?" Madame Pince inquired, sounding bored. I watched Nephiro.

"Does the library keep old newspapers?" she asked, sweetly.

"Indeed we do, Miss Miketsu. What dates can I get for you?"

"All of the week of October 31st, 1981." Pince gave Nephiro a weird eye and went off into some room. She came back with seven very old, moldy papers.

"Now, be careful, these are very old." She nodded and grabbed the pile. I followed her to a table in the far back corner and sat down. Nep handed me November 2nd and she took November 1st. I skimmed the first page. Nothing. On the second page though, there was a huge article that was next to a big picture of a man. The guy had black hair, which was pulled neatly back into a ponytail, and shimmering blue eyes like looked as though he was puzzled. The name next to it said. 'Sirius Black'.

Black's Betrayal to the Potters 

_It was a shocking scene as the Ministry of Magic and the local muggle enforcement arrived. The street was blasted apart by a powerful spell, still being disclosed by the Ministry. The muggle police claim it was a gas explosion. The culprit, Mr. Sirius Black, was found laughing hysterically in the middle of the avenue, when the law showed up. _

_Mr. Black is said to have betrayed his best friends, Lily and James Potter and disclosed their whereabouts to The Dark Lord himself. The Potter residence was found blow to bits and none of the members inside lived, with the amazing exception of the Potter's only son, Harry. The child bares a lightening shaped scar on his forehead as evidence of the Unforgivable curse used to kill. Besides having his supposed best friends killed, today investigators claim that young Peter Pettigrew was killed trying to face down the maniac, Black. The largest body part found was that of his finger, mere inches long. _

_In interviews of old Hogwarts students, they say that Peter was a good friend of Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin, who refused to comment. Many are perplexed by this turn from Black, since he had always been a polite enough boy. _

_The Minister, when notified publicly announced that Mr. Black would be sent to Azkaban on the charges of the use of an Unforgivable curse, murder, and the use of magic in front of muggles. _

_Sirius Black leaves behind a wife and two children._

I gaped at the paper for a second, before making a croaking noise. Nephiro looked up and rolled her eyes.

"Found something that interested you, Black?" I narrowed my eyes and tossed it to the Egyptian girl. Nephiro skimmed the page, seemingly taking in little detail, before placing the paper back on the table. "I think we found Peter," she said, her face in yet another twisted grin. I was beginning to question her sanity. Again.

A/N: I suck for leaving you off where I did. That scene was suppose to be continued but I need Smack's help on it... And I haven't talk to her in almost 2 weeks : I'm not completely sure how long it'll take me to get 25 up. Hopefully not as long as this one did, lol.


	25. Missing Pieces

A/N: I've had a couple of complaints about the laptop thing from chapter 22. I know electronics go hey-wire in Hogwarts. That is explained in Rilee's story - Riddles (you can from Monsoon under my Fave Authors.) Read it if you are looking for answers on Rilee. She is an interesting character. :) I like her, lol. OK, this might be a short chapter (I haven't wrote it yet, lmao.) And the opening scene is probably going to be dumb and a tad bit confusing. And if I get dates wrong... please let me know that correct one. I've misplaced my PoA book (doh!) and I can't be exact on it so... yeah. And ummm... There's probably ton's of mistakes. I should let everyone know, that I don't have a program with spell check on my computer. I use Wordpad to type, lol. Really screws me over with school projects, but anyway. Yeah, didn't be surprised if you find many, though, I'm sure y'all are smart and can figure out what the mistakes are suppose to be... Now on with the chapter!

**Chapter 25 - Missing Pieces**

For some unknown reason, the article inspired Nephiro. She sat across from me, staring at the paper, with this strange glimmer in her amber eyes. Besides thinking she has lost it, I thought for a second... that she was brilliant. No one in this school could have ever thought of an idea like this. No matter how far-fetched or adventurous other plans have been, this surpasses them with so much integrity, it's not even funny.

"It seems to me that Peter is dead," Nephiro said in a mysterious tone of voice. It sent small shivers down my spine that made me wiggle a little in my chair. She glanced up at me and smirked.

"Then, why are you smiling?" I asked, slightly uneasy. She slid her chair back and stood up.

"We have him, I think." She looked up at the clock. "We're late for potions."

"I told you we-"

"Stop. I know, I have a plan." Yeah, to land straight into detentions. I groaned. "First, we ask Madame Pince if we can borrow this," she stated, pointing to the paper I had discovered. I picked it up, as she gathered the others. We began walking back to the front desk. "Then after she tells us to be careful, which she is bound to say, we'll get the second paper we need."

"Errr... second paper?" She looked back at me.

"You'll see."

Madame Pince smiled at us as we approached the desk again. "Did you find what you were looking for, ladies?" she questioned.

"Yes, more than enough," Nephiro responded. "May we borrow this one-" she turned her head towards me and I held up the paper. Pince seemed to think about it for a moment.

"Alight, I guess you can. But, you need to be very careful. Remember they're almost as old as you." 'Holy shit… She was right!'

"Thanks. Can I borrow a more recent paper, as well?" Pince nodded. "I need July 17th, of this year." The old librarian left and I took a step toward Nep.

"What are you doing?"

"Ask me questions later. Give me time to read these." I glared at her from behind. This is my mystery too! Madame Pince returned with a newer looking paper in her hands.

"Here you go, Miss Miketsu. Please return these to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am." Nephiro strolled away, and I stood still and stared at the ceiling. "Emi!" I twitched a little and followed her out of the library. When we got out, she took the Daily Prophet from my hands and stuffed it into her bag. "Come on. Snape will be angry if we don't show up."

"I'm sure he is already angry," I mumbled. Her eyes narrowed.

"What was that, Black?" she growled. Suddenly, images of Nephiro and mine's fight and the cruelness that she was capable of, flashed into my head. No. Let's not cross Nephiro.

"I said, I'm sure he is already waiting," I replied.

Nephiro fed Snape some bullshit and we got off without a detention. She sat down, clearly proud of her manipulative power over people. Lily gave me a confused glance. I shrugged and started cutting up some ginger root.

After class, Nephiro walked the opposite way, toward, where I'm guessing, that Slytherin common room is. Feeling slightly irate that I'm letting her go after she pushed my proverbial button, I stood trying to calm down. Answers later, my ass.

"What did she want?" Draco asked, coming up to me with his hands in his pockets.

"She wanted me to give me the answers to the Defense homework," I lied.

"Oh, OK."

"Listen, I'm gonna go back to my room. I'll catch you later," I told him. We hugged and went our separate ways,

I walked back to the common room with Lily. She was talking, but I really wasn't listening. I was watching the other students in the hallway. Everyone seems to have something that sets him or her apart from everyone else. Some had odd hair colors, some had infectious laughs, some even seemed like they had no laugh. One person pulled my eyes away from the bustle.

He stood tall and lean. He hair was a dark brown, like a thickly polished piece of wood and had deep purple streaks throughout it. It hung down to about his ears and covered part of his face. I don't know why, but he seemed to have this dark glow that surrounded him, and only him. He was standing alone, gazing out a window that overlooked the Quidditch pitch. His gaze traveled and soon landed upon me. I gave my book to Lily and walked over to him.

"Hi," I said. "I'm Emi." He looked into my eyes with his gloomy gray ones. Something in them gave off a storm effect, like it had just stopped raining and the sky was beginning to clear up. Within 15 seconds, they went from a boring gray to a baby blue. I wanted to turn back time, and watch it over again; the way they change mesmerized me.

"Ephraim." His voice reminded me of Isaac's. A strong, husky, Irish accent, and the way he pronounced his name was enough to turn you into a puddle. "Ephraim Furduckin." He grinned and brushed past me and without saying a good-bye, disappeared into the crowd. Lily came up to me and literally tossed my charms book. I had to move quickly to catch it.

"There goes trouble," she stated. "Another 4th year, Ravenclaw." 'And he is Irish!' She shook her head. "And I'm not your house elf. Next you time you feel the urge to flirt with random guys, please carry your books."

"Sorry... and I wasn't flirting," I countered, coming back to reality. "Something about him... it drew me to him... Ephraim..."

"Well, it drew you because you're taken." She took a hold of my arm, and I yanked free. I was beginning to have deju vu from this morning.

"I can walk to the dormitory without being pulled," I said dryly. The fact I couldn't figure out drew me to Ephraim bugged the snot out of me, as if he was the remaining piece to a 500-puzzle set and I couldn't find him.

o.O

Kick, kick, punch, jab, knife strike, round kick, hook, sidekick, jab, spin back kick, spin honk. I slipped on the stone floor, probably due to the sweat the covered my feet, and landed on my back hard. Groaning in pain, I sat up and wiped the sweat off my forehead. The archery room was clean, everything in it's place. I had fixed the straw man, and he dangled slowly on the noose. The only thing you could hear was the sound of my breathing- rasp and fast. My invisible opponent was no longer a picture in my head and I sighed.

My body seemed to cry out in pain as I forced it to stand up, but I bit my lip and ignored it. I limped over to my robe and bag and grabbed them. I was putting on my robe when, Nephiro decided to grace me with her presence. "Yup. I was right. Like always," she said, with a freaky cheerfulness.

"Right about what? Being a whore?" I murmured. She sneered at me and handed me one of the Daily Prophets. It was one from earlier in the year, during the summer. It bore a picture of Ron's family and a small article about his father winning some contest and how they went to Egypt. "Oh, this is nice."

"Look at Scabbers." The bloody rat was looking sick even back in the summer. He looked around, nervously as the family smiled.

"OK. I'm looking. Am I supposed to make some kind of connection here? 'Cause I'm not getting it."

"Don't get shirty with me. See here." She pointed to Scabber's front paw. "Notice something?" On his left hand... err... paw, there was a small space between two of his toes, a space that the other paw didn't have.

"He is missin' a toe! I mean... a finger!" I exclaimed.

"Whoa! Soon maybe you'll get yourself a Nobel Prize!" I glowered at her comment.

"Shut up. So, this means I was right. Peter is Scabbers. And he didn't die..."

"10 points to Gryffindor!"

"I'm actually smart, I get good grades you bitch," I retorted. She laughed. When she stopped, she took the paper... no, snatched it, out of my hands and turned to leave.

"See you around, Black."

"Wait! I want to ask you something."

"I will not have your babies." I gave her a weird look and she just smiled.

"Have you ever heard of Ephraim Furduckin?" She raised he eyebrows.

"Why? Did you already discard, Malfoy?" I shook my head 'no'. "I know of him, but I haven't had a conversation with the kid, why?"

"There's something about him... it's just... I don't know."

"Strange?"

"Maybe..."

"Emi, everyone here is strange." And she left. And I was still missing puzzle pieces.

A/N: I told you it would be short. But, be happy and shut up. Another character. Oh joy, lol. Ephraim is my friend Moody's (no relation to Mad-Eye) character. :) He is Irish! How cool is that? drools More Irish dudes... Haha. Ephraim will play a bigger part next year. rubs chin evilly Yes... next year... I should work on that some, lol.


	26. Nothingness

A/N: I wanted to get to 50 before I posted this. I hope there's not too many mistakes in this one either. I've reread billions of times, but nobody ever catches every single mistake : I wish I could though, lol.

Thanks to:  
lelegurl9: Thanks for reviewing. I was beginning to think all my reviewers died on me, lol. I don't want to give out anything about Ephraim. I have plans for him. Just like I have plans for Draco. They are special characters :)

**Chapter 26 – Nothingness**

I always figured that I attract weirdoes. I really did. They zoom over me, like a moth to a fire, and hover until I burn them. Except this weirdo didn't want to be burned, and he hovered at the right distance, just enough to be out of reach of flames. Then, I began to wonder, am I the moth in this case?

"If you keep staring at him, people are going to think you fancy him," Lily whispered to me. She handed me a small piece of buttered toast, and I stuffed it into my mouth absent-mindedly. Ephraim was sitting at the Ravenclaw table talking with Isaac and some kid with freaky blue hair with red tips. I think his name is Seth, but I'm not sure.

"Fancy whom?" I asked, not really paying attention.

"That Ephraim guy." I turned my head and gave her one of the meanest looks I could muster. She just laughed.

"We've been over this, no, I don't. He's just..." I shivered as a breeze picked up. I glanced around to see why and spotted a familiar face walk in the Great Hall. Rilee Riddle had her cloak on and her arms were locked tightly around her body, giving off a sense of cold. Her face was pale and seemed kind of blue, but that could have been a reflection from the streaks in her hair. She walked with her head kind of down, looking at the floor, just enough that you couldn't see her facial expression. Her legs moved slowly but at a fast pace at the same time, if that was even possible. Heads turned toward the Slytherin as she sat down at her rightful table. A couple of seconds later, the post arrived and the attention was adverted.

Kurai dropped an envelope, a muggle one, on my empty plate. She settled on my shoulder and I rubbed the top of her head. "Good girl, thanks. Lily will give you some food." The bird flew the short distance to Lily. I gazed down at the letter. The writing was in crud cursive and there was no return address. Being the curious, little girl I am, I turned it over and opened it.

_Emily Anne-  
I know you must be looking forward to coming home this summer. I know you miss me. Just to let you know, I'll pick you up, but I'm going to leave you in London. You are no longer welcome in my home. No wizard shall live under my roof, especially insubordinate little wenches, such as you. I suggest you find a new home, probably in an orphanage, but I doubt even one of those can take you. You probably couldn't even survive being a bum._

_Aunt Mildred._

I opened my eyes wild with shock. Why would any human being write such a nasty letter to a parent-less, 13 year old girl!? How dare she write to me!

"Who's it from?" Lily questioned. I quickly folded up the letter and stuffed it in my robe.

"Oh, just a friend from my old school."

"A muggle wrote you a letter, and sent it via owl?"

I looked at her. "Shut up, Lily." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm going back to bed."

"But we have Defense..."

"Screw Lupin. I don't feel well and my head hurts," I stated angrily. I stood up and slung my bad over my shoulder. I realized then that I didn't really lie. My head felt light as soon as I got to my feet. As an instinct, I placed a hand on my temple, as if it would make the pain go away. I glanced over at Ephraim and Isaac before exiting the Hall. I stopped outside and leaned against the wall. I felt so dizzy and I don't know why.

"You OK?" I turned and saw Ephraim standing there. He had this worried expression, I mean with the eyebrows burrowed and the mouth in a frown, kind of expression. And I immediately thought to myself, 'Why does he care?' I watched him take a couple of steps toward me.

"Yeah, I have a headache, that's all," I responded. The faint glow that usually surrounds him was more definite and darker, and it seemed to have black dots floating in it. I rubbed my eyes, but it was still there. 'I'm going insane...'

"You look a little disorientated..." he mumbled. "But, if you say you're OK..." He turned around.

"No! Wait!" Ephraim looked back in my direction. "Could you walk me to the infirmary?" I gazed into his eyes, which were again, gray. He sighed.

"Alright. But if I'm late for Transfiguration, I'm telling McGonagall to give you the detention," he answered. I nodded a little, but groaned as my vision went blurry. "Man, you need to lie down before you faint." He grabbed my arms from behind and walked slightly to my side, just enough to keep me from falling.

"Thanks," I said weakly.

"Why didn't Draco come out?" I glanced at him.

"Why do you ask?" But, I knew why he did. Draco was my boyfriend, so why isn't he out here helping me, instead of a complete stranger?

"Just making conversation."

"Mighty strong of a topic for "just making conversation"," I replied. Ephraim gave me a confused look. "Let's just not talk about Draco."

"Ok, then. Err... Whoa!" It was like my legs decided to give out on me and almost collapsed. That moment was when I began to get scared. 'What is actually wrong with me? This can't be good...'

"Heh... Sorry," I murmured.

"Here," he said. Ephraim grabbed a hold of my legs and swung me into the air. "I'll just carry you to the infirmary."

"You don't have to..."

"Well, if you pass out before we get there, I'm gonna end up carrying you anyway. This is more productive." I stayed quiet and didn't complain. What for? I'm being carried around my some strong, Irish dude, there is no reason to protest.

My vision grew blurrier and it was hard to even keep my eyes open. So, I rested my head on Ephraim's shoulder and closed them. It seemed that time it's self –shifted. I was back in the familiar black void.

o.O

_I was alone, yet I felt surrounded. But, in reality... well, reality here... I was surrounded, surrounded by black nothingness. There was no smell, no sound, no feeling of time. No nothing. Just... black. I'm not sure if there was even air. Maybe I'm dead, and I don't need air anymore. I waited for those voices but they never came. But when I finally heard something, I wished that I didn't. _

_"Emily..." I jumped and spun around a couple of times. The person's voice was of a man's... at least it wasn't a woman's. It was weak and feeble, and sort of dry. _

_"Who's... who's there?" The sound echoed for what seemed like an eternity. _

_"Just listen, you stupid, little brat," the voice hissed... And I mean, hissed. The sounds he made seemed snake-like, not human, but I understood... "Stay out of my plans. You've already draining my energy enough, I don't need you doing anymore damage." _

_"What plans?!" I asked, totally confused, and rather frightened. It didn't reply. I sighed and wrapped my arms around my legs. "It's no use..." I know that nothing in my power can me out of here. There's nothing to do but wait... "I'm a little teacup... short and stout... here is my..."_

o.O

"Handle... here is my spout..." I sang softly as the blackness slowly disappeared again. I could feel the sheets against my skin and the sweat beads on my forehead. The world seemed to get lighter. It was like, one second I'm in my black void and the next... well, I'm not. It's just that simple. I slowly opened my eyes, to see the world around me. 'I'm in the Infirmary? Why? Oh wait... now I remember, I fainted,' I thought to myself. I stared at the ceiling for a while, before deciding to move. The bed across from me squeaked. I sat up and looked at its occupant. This had to be my first time seeing Rilee in the Infirmary and not be a patient. She sat on the cot staring at me like I was a freak.

Smiling a little in embarrassment, I ran my hand through my hair. "This probably looks really bad..." I started.

"And why's that?" she asked, no trace of malice or scorn in her voice.

"Ummm..." I was slightly short of words. This was a very awkward scene and I didn't really want to say anything else that would make her think I'm even crazier. "How are you feeling?"

"How am I feeling?" she repeated, "You're the one that fainted. You're lucky Ephraim was there. I may not like him, or approve of him, but he helped you." She looked at me oddly.

"Why don't you like him?" I asked hesitantly.

"That, is something I won't indulge." I eyed Rilee funny, but shrugged it off.

Ephraim has been on my mind for two days now, and now I got him out of it, I want him to stay out.

"How did you find out I was here?"

"It's not hard. Everyone knows," she sighed. "You're almost here more times then I am." Riddle grinned. "Of course, I still hold that record."

I was silent for a minute or so. Just gazing at Rilee in disbelief. "How... does... everyone?"

She laughed. "You're more naive then Potter." I growled softly. She stayed quiet for a moment, thinking. When she did speak it contained a hint of sympathy, "Don't growl at me Black, it's true at times. The school knows because Granger told someone, probably a professor, and Pansy over heard her. It's not that big a deal. No one really cares. You've been fainting a lot lately." I gaped at her.

"Have I been out long?" I questioned, taking a quick glance at the window. The treetops that were in view, seemed to do a dance, and the stars shined brightly. 'Seems like an eternity... just like my dreams do...'

"Only for a few hours," was her response. She glanced back at the door, almost as if she had heard something but there was no one there. "Snape wasn't too thrilled," she added absently, still looking at the door.

"OK, do I have a right to be puzzled now? Why would Snape be angry?"

Another absent response, "You weren't in class and we did a, and I quote him directly, "Very important potion today. Those that fail to make this properly will receive two-night detention with me making it over until you get it perfect." He was a prick today." Slowly she turned back to me, confused slightly.

"I take it, I'm going to be in that detention, since I wasn't there to "properly" make this "very important" potion?" I sighed and threw my legs over the bedside. I still felt sort of dizzy. "Ow," I muttered, clutching my head. 'Yup... still dizzy.'

"No, you don't. He and I had a .....talk. You passed that grade with perfect A's."

"Errr... Thanks, I guess..." Standing up, I reached for my robe. Madame Pomfrey came in and let out a small screech.

"Miss Black! You shouldn't be out of bed yet! You have to rest!" she told me, rushing over.

"I'm fine," I replied.

Rilee stood up, "Madam Pomfrey, can I talk to you a sec?" She jerked her head to the corner, actually making the older women do as ordered. I stared at them as Rilee spoke quietly and quickly to the nurse. Pomfrey looked a bit ruffled when she came back.

"You have permission to go Miss Black," she said cautiously. "And if you feel dizzy please - "

"Let her go Pompy. She's fine." The last words sounded more like a bark. I put my bag on and looked at the two of them, probably resembling a deer caught in headlights. I didn't respond out loud to the strange behavior, but I'm sure my expression made it clear. I walked out of the room and turned around to see them. "I think I might go see if I can find any food..." I finally said, slowly.

Rilee nodded. "I'll go with her Pomfrey. You need not worry," she added with extra emphasis. Madam Pomfrey actually stomped her foot in anger but remained quiet. She hurried back into her office and shut the door tightly.

"Why are you being so nice to me, Riddle?" I asked tentatively.

Rilee looked back at me from where she stood near the door. "I'm not."

"It seems to me that you are... You're acting all weird..."

She seemed to get a bit angry at my questions. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Black. Don't question my reasoning."

I didn't feel the need to answer her on that one. "Dinner is already over I take it?"

She nodded briskly. "I'll get us some food though." We walked out of the Infirmary, Riddle in front as fidgety as a mouse. I didn't understand it all, why was she helping me? What was her motive? And why was she so jumpy?

I followed her quietly, not sure if I should say anything to her or not. A couple of minutes past, or maybe more, I wasn't quite sure of time at the moment. We both seemed jump when a loud noise filled the hallway. And we both kind of got spooked.

Rilee passed each opening to a new hall quickly, literally jumping to the other side. I followed at a less, active, pace. We ended up at a large painting of fruit. She walked up to it slowly, looking around to see if anyone followed us, then tickled the pear. The picture opened in the same way the portrait of the Fat Lady did. Inside was a huge crowd... of house elves?

Rilee snapped her fingers and two small house elves came up to us. She whispered in one's ear and told the other to get some soup for us. Then she also asked for something she called a "Serpents Kiss."

One rushed back up to us and handed each us a bowl of soup. Rilee sat down, and gestured for me to do the same. I began to eat my soup, when another elf approached Rilee.

The small elf handed her a goblet of some steaming green thing. She eyed it carefully then drank the entire thing at once. Her body shivered uncontrollably for about ten seconds then she just went on eating her soup.

I eyed her as I ate. 'That wasn't normal...' "Hey... I guess I should say thanks... I mean for getting me some food..." I drifted off with my sentence.

"Think nothing of it," her voice sounded cracked and weak. 'What was wrong with her?' "Want anything to drink?" she asked, stronger this time.

"Umm... Sure. Some hot tea would be nice..." Rilee snapped her fingers again and another elf came up. Rilee dropped her bowl when she saw him.

"DOBY!!"

A/N: This chapter long enough for you people? I mean it's six pages, with a couple sentences on a seventh. Dang, lol. How did you like her dream? Heh. Oh yeah. Dreams are fun. 27 is more than half done, but don't expect it to be posted until next week. And everyone! January 13th is my birthday!!!Hehe.


	27. Absent Minded

A/N: Errr... I don't think that I have anything of importance to say before the chapter, lol. Except, expect mistakes.

Thanks: 

lelegurl: I shall try and add in Draco a little more. Heh. Though writing scenes with Draco always is hard. I can't get a good character attitude for him that works. shrugs

**Chapter 27 - Absent Minded**

I had excused myself from the kitchen, after getting the feeling that I shouldn't be there. I didn't really tell Rilee either. She was still in a small state of shock after she recognized some house elf named, Doby. I don't understand…

I waited patiently, leaning on the opposite wall of the giant painting. I felt like I was waiting to see God… Meaning, I'll be waiting for eternity. Sighing, I pushed off of the rough wall and began a descent to the Gryffindor Tower.

I moved slowly through the desolate halls, keeping my head down, watching my feet. It seemed like they were the part of my body that did the thinking because I had no clue where I was really going. As if I was traveling just to be traveling. Soon, I became kind of sleepy and rather annoyed. It was a crazy thing, at least I thought. 'I just spent hours in a state of slumber, but it only took an hour to get tired again,' I thought, bitterly. I continued to walk, or maybe the word drag would be better to use, around like a zombie, until I saw a shadow engulf my feet. I let my head pull up to meet the angry face of Mr. Filch.

"Mmm… Look what we have here, Mrs. Norris. A lost student," Filch said in a quiet, loathing voice. I swallowed. "Out late for a stroll? Or were you planning on stealing more stuff from my cabinets," he spat bitterly.

"Stealing? No, Mr. Filch, you have it all - " I rushed my words, forcing them to take effect on my brain.

"Ha. We'll just leave this manner with Professor McGonagall." He smirked at me in a very cruel way, bringing out the scars on his already ugly face. I nodded hesitantly. He grabbed a hold of my shoulder and started moving towards McGonagall's office.

o.O

"Can you believe her???" I asked Lily harshly at breakfast. "She actually took 25 points from Gryffindor! And fed me another detention! Argh!"

"You kinda brought it on yourself though," she answered, shrugging her shoulders. I glared at her. "You _were_ wandering, aimlessly around way past curfew."

"Where's my back-up on this?"

"Ephraim." I felt like hitting her. Why does she keep bringing him up?

"Just shut up about him, will ya?" She smiled at me.

"The whole school knows that he carried you to the Hospital Wing. Draco wasn't happy about it either. You should have seem him at dinner." Lily let out an amused laugh. I looked over at Draco, who was busy in conversation with Crabbe and Goyle, probably telling each other different way to kill Potter. Heh. I placed my elbows on the table and rested my chin on my hands. The sky was a storming gray, and every once in a while you could catch a bolt of lightning. "Did you even hear what I said?"

"Yes, Lil. I heard."

"What time is your detention tonight?" she questioned, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"7 o'clock," I replied, still staring at the enchanted ceiling. "And before you ask, I think it's with Lupin." I made a disgusted face.

"Good luck," she said, getting up.

"Where are you going?" I snapped out of my daze and gazed at my friend fix her robe.

"I need to go to Muggle Studies early so I can see if I can get extra time on my project."

"Ha ha. That old hag will probably say no," I responded, smirking slightly.

"You're probably right, but it's worth a try." And with that she left the Great Hall, walking with a confident bounce.

The day drew on slow. I've never felt so bored in a while. All the teachers seemed to get off this restless mood and had no energy for teaching at all. Maybe it was just me. I kept nodding off to sleep, only to be startled awake 30 seconds later. I just couldn't concentrate for the life of me. Other's watched me in amused awe as I tried different methods of staying awake… Banging my head against the desk seemed to be the most popular of them all. It was quite possible that I was dreading my detention. Last time I had a detention with Lupin, Nephiro and I tried to kill each other. It made me think about what kind of madness could unravel this time.

o.O

I lied on my bed; staring at the photo Lupin had given me a couple of days earlier. It mesmerized me. Lily came over to see what I was doing, and why I was so quiet.

"Is that your parents?" she asked. I raised my eyebrows.

"No. They're just random people I keep a picture of." She seemed taken aback by my derisive reply.

"Your mum is very pretty." So they keep telling me. "She doesn't look very English."

"My mother is actually Spanish."

"You never told me that…" Lily took a sit next to me and reached for the photograph. I gave it to her cautiously, and sighed. "So… That would mean your Aunt is actually Spanish as well?" I nodded. "Then can you speak it?"

"Sí. Sé hablar español. Pero elijo normalmente no a, porque realmente confunde a gente," I said wryly. She looked very confused, and I just laughed and took my picture back, placing it in the rightful place on my wall. "Yes, I can speak Spanish. But not very well."

"That sounded pretty well," Lily breathed, looking a little flabbergasted.

"I haven't spoken it in many years. My Aunt has given me no reason to use anything but insults and swear words." I glimpsed at the clock. "I'm gonna head down to detention. I'll see you later." Lily gave me a agreeing nod, and I exited the dorm.

The commom room was flooded by morons. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in their usual spots, doing what I think is their Divination homework. I shook my head.

"You're early," Professor Lupin commented, as I entered the classroom. He was sitting at his cluttered desk, grading papers, and didn't even look up when I sat down.

"The common room is boring, and I thought I'd get here later," I replied, still feeling tired. I rested my head on the table and shut my eyes. When I opened them again, only three minutes has passed. Swearing inwardly, I placed my forehead on the cold wood.

"Ah, Mr. Perezoso. Just on time." I brought my head back up and glanced at the other kid entering the room. He was tall, about the same height as Zandyr, and had chestnut-brown eyes, that sort of reminded me of almonds. His hair was the same as his eyes, maybe a little darker, and was short and partly curly. The tone of his skin was tanner than most people at Hogwarts. He looked generally different.

"Hola, Professor Lupin," Perezoso stated. He pronounced his consonants more accented than a normal person would speak. My eyes lit up some when I came to realize what kind of accent this new boy had. The yellow emblem of Hufflepuff was on the left hand side of his robes and sat down next to me with a smile. "Now, don't you look very happy?" he said sarcastically.

"Don't you look stupid," I retorted. Lupin suddenly rose from his seat.

"I have no clue why I got stuck with the two of you but I might as well have you do something. I mean, since you are in detention." He looked kind of sick, like he did when I first met him. The color in his cheeks was draining, and the bags under his eyes were growing. He resembled a zombie…

"Ah com'on Professor. We already got points taken away just for landing ourselves here. Can't ya spare us?" Perezoso grinned, and Lupin just raised an eyebrow.

"No." He walked over to the counters next to us and picked up two empty glass tanks; both were terribly dirty and pretty disgusting. "Here," he told us, putting them down on the table, along with a bucket of water and two sponges. "Clean." After that he sat down again, and continued grading papers.

"That was odd… He usually goes with it," the Hispanic dude said.

"Only in your imagination," I whispered.

"I'm Fenton Perezoso, by the way." I smirked at his name. I had to admit it was an interesting name.

"Emi Black." We locked eyes for a brief second, before beginning to clean our tanks. There was silence for a while until Lupin excused himself for a couple of minutes. "Perezoso…" Fenton glanced up at me.

"Yeah?"

"Sounds Spanish."

"It's actually Puerto Rican."

"Cool."

"You have this foreign look to you, did you know that?" I found this observation strange. I always found myself plain.

"How do you figure that?"

"Well… for starters, your eyes are shaped a tab bit differently than an Englishman."

"My eyes?" I cocked my head in a questioning manner.

"Yes. They look…"

"Spanish?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Which side of your family is Spanish? Su madre I'm guessing, since your last name isn't Hispanic at all."

"Right again. My mum was Spanish." We left it at that, because Lupin came back in and yelled at us for not working.

The detention ended, and Fenton and I went in different directions. He was pretty different, but not as different as I originally thought.

o.O

Soon, the cold weather went by, and the season turned to spring. The muggy air made me just want to stay in the cool environment of my bedroom. But I was forced to leave for class, always grumbling though. Lily said that I needed to stop being lazy and start studying for the final exams. Knowing that she was right, I tried, but studing for a test in like potions or herbology is kind of useless. I used my extra time to watch the pictures that I've acquired of my parents, or staring at the never-dying flowers Draco gave me. They still looked healthy, not a speck of brown, and not to mention still smelled great.

A/N: I was just going to add Fenton for later purposes, and partly I wanted to have fun :) Smack and I (mostly Smack) made him, while playing SIMS. Ahhh, SIMS... snaps out of daze Sorry. I'm also sorry that I've never touched base with Emi's mom's side fo the family. It wasn't till like four weeks or so ago that I realize I've never once mention the fact she is half Spanish, or that she can speak it, lol. I just want your guys to know, it wasn't something I just came up with.


	28. Once Again

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was having huge writers block when it came to this chapter. It's probably because Smack and Monsoon aren't helping me. (They're in a different state.) I had this half way done, and then left it for like a month. I decided that all of that was shit, so I rewrote the whole thing. Enjoy.

**Chapter 29 – Giving Up**

When Nephiro and I split, I felt empty. Part of me wanted to find Peter and step on him, and another part told me I was stupid for thinking this could even work. How could a 13 year-old girl with an attention span of 30 minutes, and tons of owed homework, and a not so great knack for thinking of useful spells on the spot, find an eight-inch rat? Make that a _nine_-inch rat in a _huge_ school. It's a dumb idea.

"Why am I even bothering?" I asked myself. The hallway was pitch black and I didn't feel that making it brighter would help me in the least bit. It was a hopeless mission from the start.

Suddenly I could hear the rustling of cloth coming from around the corner, and it was growing louder. I pressed my body against the wall and held my breath. It stopped and I pushed the air out of my lungs. I slid down the wall and took a seat on the floor. The sounds started again, and I quickly laid down and pretended to be sleeping, but kept one eye opened.

Professor Lupin rounded the corner and stopped when his eyes caught sight of my motionless body. He openly swore and bent down.

"Don't tell me you fainted, Emi. This isn't the greatest time," he told me, shaking my shoulder with his free hand. I let out a tired groan, and allowed my eyes to open. He was looking down at me with a mix of worry and anger on his face. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Prof . . . Professor Lupin? Where am I?" I questioned, feeling cheap for lying. The fact that I was bluntly lying sorely bothered me.

"In the corridors, after hours." He put out his hand and helped me up. "Do you feel OK?" I leaned against the wall, basking in my lie. Lupin reached in his pocket and pulled out a half eaten chocolate bar. Placing it in my hands, he looked into my eyes.

"I feel fine, a little dizzy and really confused, but fine," I answered.

"I'm in a rush so I can't bring you to Pomfrey. Eat that and go see her. You don't look well." I felt insulted, since there currently wasn't anything wrong with me.

"Alright Professor. Thank you." He gave a short nod and ran off. I listened to his footsteps die off before dropping the candy on the ground. 'I have no purpose for it and it tastes gross . . . Why does Professor Lupin always have chocolate?' I stared down the dark hallway and was snapped back to reality was I heard more movement. I didn't get a chance to react before Snape was in front of me. I braced myself for a yelling but he just kept running. I don't think he glanced at me. "I wonder what's going on that two teachers are running to?"

I began to walk in the oppose direction of the professors. Lupin's classroom door was wide open and full of light. I decided that my curiosity wasn't that strong and kept going. 'Besides, if I'm caught in Lupin's room, it wouldn't look good for either of us.'

About 15 minutes passed before my head started to hurt. It felt ten pounds heavier and the world that wasn't shrouded in blackness blurred. I rested my forehead on the nearest wall. It was nice and cold and it felt so good when it touched my skin. Trying to breath normally, I concentrated on something other than pain. Soon, I found myself feeling better and I continued to walk again. Not a minute later it returned and I sat down on a set of stairs.

My body was tired even though I hadn't done much activity today and my eyes seemed to throb. I rested my back against the wall and covered my eyes with my hands. Waves of pain would hit me every couple of minutes like I'm a beach on a rough day, and I couldn't help but cry. It hurt so much.

"Emi?" I turned my upper body to see who was calling me, half expecting to be yelled out and saw Ephraim. He was sporting a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black shirt with a witty saying on it. The light given off by the lone torch burning showed me the confused look on his face. I wiped my tears hoping he didn't see them. "What are you doing?" he questioned in his Irish accent.

"Resting and wondering why I exist." I gulped to force back a new set of tears welling up in my eyes. The pain was getting worse and consuming all of my body. "And you?"

"This is right by the Ravenclaw house, and I couldn't stand being in there anymore," he replied. "Hey, you look like you're sick."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically and thought my sudden pain was ironic. Lying to Lupin was a bad thing . .

"Maybe you should go to the Infirmary." I shook my head.

"It'll pass . . ." I hope it does at least.

"Yeah, sure, after you pass out that is. Come on, get up."

"No," I groaned. He pulled me to my feet. My heart was racing and I felt the cold sweat rolling down the back of my neck. I shrugged him off me when he tried to help me walk. I didn't want to seem too bad . . . too weak. My legs screamed as I moved them, I gritted my teeth and released my built up tears.

"Are you crying, Black?"

"No," I said again. A surge of pain went through my body, starting at the tip of my toes and ending at the top of my head. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying out in pain and bit right through it. I could taste the coppery liquid in my mouth as well as more pain. "Ow."

"What now?"

"I feel like I'm dying . . ." I told him faintly.

"You're not –"

"I know . . . I . . . I just . . ." My eyes wanted to close and my legs gave out. I felt my body hit the stone floor and Ephraim saying my name, asking me to stay with him. My mind was already gone and the world went black.

o.O

_I was sitting in a room with walls covered in posters and notes. A broomstick rested in the corner, and clothes were thrown about haphazardly. Even though I've never seen this place before, I felt like I knew everything there. _

_"Emi! Sirius! Dinner!" called a woman from what seemed like downstairs. I got off the queen-sized bed with excitement and flung open the bedroom door. A man came out of the room across from me. He looked exactly like my father in the pictures I have, but his hair was wet and combed backwards. I could smell his aftershave from where I stood. _

_"After you my love," he said, mocking me with a bow. I laughed and without giving it a single thought hurried down the stairs. The woman, with her long brown hair in a ponytail and feminine dress, was placing the plates on the round maple table. Zandyr was sitting in one of the chairs, grinning about something. I took my place across from him and stuck my tongue out at him. _

_"Grow-up, smallpox," he spat while eyeing me evilly. _

_"Kids, please, can we have a civilized dinner for once?" _

_"Oh man, I'm starving," my father said and he sat down next to me. "It smells great Annie . . . What is it?" My mother chuckled, and put the big bowl down in the middle. _

_"Chicken Caesar salad." _

_"Com'on mum, we have this all the time!" Zandyr suddenly complained. _

_"Live Alex, I didn't have the time to something fancy tonight. If you want something different, make something yourself." That seemed to shut him up. _

_I felt overwhelmed and out of place, but this also felt so right. This wasn't the real world. In reality, my mum died, and my dad looks like a crazy homeless person. His hair is probably longer, uncombed, and greasy and his face unshaven; nothing like the handsome man sitting next to me. _

_Still, I ate my dream food, at my dream table with my make believe family situation. I was happy, and wished all my dreams were like this –a world where Voldemort didn't exist. No Peter to frame my father, no Deatheaters to kill my mother and my brother and I weren't split up. _

_The best part pf this was being able to watch my mom. Every night I stared at those photos and dream of her voice. Now I could see her face gleaming brown eyes of happiness and her radiant beauty that made the whole room glow. She was even prettier in person. I wanted to hug her, smell her, and tell her I love her, just so I could remember every singles detail. I got to my feet and did exactly that, and soaked in every moment into my mind. She smelled like the Spanish iris' that were sitting in a vase on the counter, and were equal in their beauty. Zandyr and my dad looked on confused. _

_"I love you too Emi," she answered. The words were music to my ears and I began to cry. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?" It felt so good to be there. Father got up as well and hugged us both. _

_"Nothing mum . . . nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect . . ."_

o.O

Voices coming from outside the Infirmary woke me with a start. I sat up quickly in my bed and looked around me. Nephiro was sitting at the bottom of my bed staring at the door, Harry laid in one, seeming to be knocked out, Ron had one as well, and his leg was bandaged and suspending in air and Hermione was awake and listening as well. Madam Pomfrey was walking toward Harry's bed with a huge piece of chocolate. Him and Hermione both asked how Ron was and of course she said he was fine.

"As for you two, I mean three, glad to see you alive Emi . . . you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're –Potter, what do you think you're doing?" He was getting up, and I held back a laugh. Pomfrey wouldn't allow this.

"I need to see the headmaster."

"Potter, it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now –"

"WHAT?" Harry and I yelled at the same time. I was amazed. He is here, in the castle? What about Peter? The kiss? Harry, Hermione and I jumped to our feet just as two people came in. The Minister of Magic had on his strange little outfit and his ugly hat and Professor Snape looked beat up, but pleased.

"Harry, Harry, what' this?" the Minister asked. "You should be in bed –has he had any chocolate?"

"What's going on?" I asked Nephiro quietly, she looked at me intently as if to say 'Shut up'.

"Minister, listen! Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's –" Harry said this in a terrible rush and I found it a little hard to follow. I believed him; Nephiro and I were trying to prove the same thing for months now.

"He is right!" I chided in, and Snape glared at me.

"Harry, Harry," Fudge said again. "You're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, all of you lie back down, now, we've got everything under control . . ."

"YOU HAVEN'T!" Potter bellowed, his face turning red with anger. I was surprise to see him do this. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

Hermione cut in, "Minister, listen, please. I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew I mean and –" I sat down on the bed next to Nephiro and watched the scene progress, and stayed quiet.

A/N: Yup. Coping from the book again. Live. It needed it. And another thought, why **does** Lupin have chocolate handy all the time? It's that a bit strange?


	29. Giving Up

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I was having huge writers block when it came to this chapter. It's probably because Smack and Monsoon aren't helping me. (They're in a different state.) I had this half way done, and then left it for like a month. I decided that all of that was shit, so I rewrote the whole thing. Enjoy.

**Chapter 29 – Giving Up**

When Nephiro and I split, I felt empty. Part of me wanted to find Peter and step on him, and another part told me I was stupid for thinking this could even work. How could a 13 year-old girl with an attention span of 30 minutes, and tons of owed homework, and a not so great knack for thinking of useful spells on the spot, find an eight-inch rat? Make that a _nine_-inch rat in a _huge_ school. It's a dumb idea.

"Why am I even bothering?" I asked myself. The hallway was pitch black and I didn't feel that making it brighter would help me in the least bit. It was a hopeless mission from the start.

Suddenly I could hear the rustling of cloth coming from around the corner, and it was growing louder. I pressed my body against the wall and held my breath. It stopped and I pushed the air out of my lungs. I slid down the wall and took a seat on the floor. The sounds started again, and I quickly laid down and pretended to be sleeping, but kept one eye opened.

Professor Lupin rounded the corner and stopped when his eyes caught sight of my motionless body. He openly swore and bent down.

"Don't tell me you fainted, Emi. This isn't the greatest time," he told me, shaking my shoulder with his free hand. I let out a tired groan, and allowed my eyes to open. He was looking down at me with a mix of worry and anger on his face. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Prof . . . Professor Lupin? Where am I?" I questioned, feeling cheap for lying. The fact that I was bluntly lying sorely bothered me.

"In the corridors, after hours." He put out his hand and helped me up. "Do you feel OK?" I leaned against the wall, basking in my lie. Lupin reached in his pocket and pulled out a half eaten chocolate bar. Placing it in my hands, he looked into my eyes.

"I feel fine, a little dizzy and really confused, but fine," I answered.

"I'm in a rush so I can't bring you to Pomfrey. Eat that and go see her. You don't look well." I felt insulted, since there currently wasn't anything wrong with me.

"Alright Professor. Thank you." He gave a short nod and ran off. I listened to his footsteps die off before dropping the candy on the ground. 'I have no purpose for it and it tastes gross . . . Why does Professor Lupin always have chocolate?' I stared down the dark hallway and was snapped back to reality was I heard more movement. I didn't get a chance to react before Snape was in front of me. I braced myself for a yelling but he just kept running. I don't think he glanced at me. "I wonder what's going on that two teachers are running to?"

I began to walk in the oppose direction of the professors. Lupin's classroom door was wide open and full of light. I decided that my curiosity wasn't that strong and kept going. 'Besides, if I'm caught in Lupin's room, it wouldn't look good for either of us.'

About 15 minutes passed before my head started to hurt. It felt ten pounds heavier and the world that wasn't shrouded in blackness blurred. I rested my forehead on the nearest wall. It was nice and cold and it felt so good when it touched my skin. Trying to breath normally, I concentrated on something other than pain. Soon, I found myself feeling better and I continued to walk again. Not a minute later it returned and I sat down on a set of stairs.

My body was tired even though I hadn't done much activity today and my eyes seemed to throb. I rested my back against the wall and covered my eyes with my hands. Waves of pain would hit me every couple of minutes like I'm a beach on a rough day, and I couldn't help but cry. It hurt so much.

"Emi?" I turned my upper body to see who was calling me, half expecting to be yelled out and saw Ephraim. He was sporting a pair of baggy blue jeans and a black shirt with a witty saying on it. The light given off by the lone torch burning showed me the confused look on his face. I wiped my tears hoping he didn't see them. "What are you doing?" he questioned in his Irish accent.

"Resting and wondering why I exist." I gulped to force back a new set of tears welling up in my eyes. The pain was getting worse and consuming all of my body. "And you?"

"This is right by the Ravenclaw house, and I couldn't stand being in there anymore," he replied. "Hey, you look like you're sick."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically and thought my sudden pain was ironic. Lying to Lupin was a bad thing . .

"Maybe you should go to the Infirmary." I shook my head.

"It'll pass . . ." I hope it does at least.

"Yeah, sure, after you pass out that is. Come on, get up."

"No," I groaned. He pulled me to my feet. My heart was racing and I felt the cold sweat rolling down the back of my neck. I shrugged him off me when he tried to help me walk. I didn't want to seem too bad . . . too weak. My legs screamed as I moved them, I gritted my teeth and released my built up tears.

"Are you crying, Black?"

"No," I said again. A surge of pain went through my body, starting at the tip of my toes and ending at the top of my head. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying out in pain and bit right through it. I could taste the coppery liquid in my mouth as well as more pain. "Ow."

"What now?"

"I feel like I'm dying . . ." I told him faintly.

"You're not –"

"I know . . . I . . . I just . . ." My eyes wanted to close and my legs gave out. I felt my body hit the stone floor and Ephraim saying my name, asking me to stay with him. My mind was already gone and the world went black.

o.O

_I was sitting in a room with walls covered in posters and notes. A broomstick rested in the corner, and clothes were thrown about haphazardly. Even though I've never seen this place before, I felt like I knew everything there. _

_"Emi! Sirius! Dinner!" called a woman from what seemed like downstairs. I got off the queen-sized bed with excitement and flung open the bedroom door. A man came out of the room across from me. He looked exactly like my father in the pictures I have, but his hair was wet and combed backwards. I could smell his aftershave from where I stood. _

_"After you my love," he said, mocking me with a bow. I laughed and without giving it a single thought hurried down the stairs. The woman, with her long brown hair in a ponytail and feminine dress, was placing the plates on the round maple table. Zandyr was sitting in one of the chairs, grinning about something. I took my place across from him and stuck my tongue out at him. _

_"Grow-up, smallpox," he spat while eyeing me evilly. _

_"Kids, please, can we have a civilized dinner for once?" _

_"Oh man, I'm starving," my father said and he sat down next to me. "It smells great Annie . . . What is it?" My mother chuckled, and put the big bowl down in the middle. _

_"Chicken Caesar salad." _

_"Com'on mum, we have this all the time!" Zandyr suddenly complained. _

_"Live Alex, I didn't have the time to something fancy tonight. If you want something different, make something yourself." That seemed to shut him up. _

_I felt overwhelmed and out of place, but this also felt so right. This wasn't the real world. In reality, my mum died, and my dad looks like a crazy homeless person. His hair is probably longer, uncombed, and greasy and his face unshaven; nothing like the handsome man sitting next to me. _

_Still, I ate my dream food, at my dream table with my make believe family situation. I was happy, and wished all my dreams were like this –a world where Voldemort didn't exist. No Peter to frame my father, no Deatheaters to kill my mother and my brother and I weren't split up. _

_The best part pf this was being able to watch my mom. Every night I stared at those photos and dream of her voice. Now I could see her face gleaming brown eyes of happiness and her radiant beauty that made the whole room glow. She was even prettier in person. I wanted to hug her, smell her, and tell her I love her, just so I could remember every singles detail. I got to my feet and did exactly that, and soaked in every moment into my mind. She smelled like the Spanish iris' that were sitting in a vase on the counter, and were equal in their beauty. Zandyr and my dad looked on confused. _

_"I love you too Emi," she answered. The words were music to my ears and I began to cry. "Oh, honey, what's wrong?" It felt so good to be there. Father got up as well and hugged us both. _

_"Nothing mum . . . nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect . . ."_

o.O

Voices coming from outside the Infirmary woke me with a start. I sat up quickly in my bed and looked around me. Nephiro was sitting at the bottom of my bed staring at the door, Harry laid in one, seeming to be knocked out, Ron had one as well, and his leg was bandaged and suspending in air and Hermione was awake and listening as well. Madam Pomfrey was walking toward Harry's bed with a huge piece of chocolate. Him and Hermione both asked how Ron was and of course she said he was fine.

"As for you two, I mean three, glad to see you alive Emi . . . you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're –Potter, what do you think you're doing?" He was getting up, and I held back a laugh. Pomfrey wouldn't allow this.

"I need to see the headmaster."

"Potter, it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now –"

"WHAT?" Harry and I yelled at the same time. I was amazed. He is here, in the castle? What about Peter? The kiss? Harry, Hermione and I jumped to our feet just as two people came in. The Minister of Magic had on his strange little outfit and his ugly hat and Professor Snape looked beat up, but pleased.

"Harry, Harry, what' this?" the Minister asked. "You should be in bed –has he had any chocolate?"

"What's going on?" I asked Nephiro quietly, she looked at me intently as if to say 'Shut up'.

"Minister, listen! Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's –" Harry said this in a terrible rush and I found it a little hard to follow. I believed him; Nephiro and I were trying to prove the same thing for months now.

"He is right!" I chided in, and Snape glared at me.

"Harry, Harry," Fudge said again. "You're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, all of you lie back down, now, we've got everything under control . . ."

"YOU HAVEN'T!" Potter bellowed, his face turning red with anger. I was surprise to see him do this. "YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

Hermione cut in, "Minister, listen, please. I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew I mean and –" I sat down on the bed next to Nephiro and watched the scene progress, and stayed quiet.

A/N: Yup. Coping from the book again. Live. It needed it. And another thought, why **does** Lupin have chocolate handy all the time? It's that a bit strange?


	30. Illusions and Escapes

A/N: Smack and I got together and wrote the rest of this story. :) Enjoy.

**Chapter 30: Illusions and Escapes.**

Dumbledore attempted to dismiss everyone, including Madam Pomfrey, but they were all still arguing. In the mist of the excitement, Nephiro turned to me.

"I saw Black attack Ron; he dragged him into the Whomping Willow. Of course Harry and Hermione followed," Nephiro whispered. "Then, Lupin went in, trailed by Snapoe. At first I was confused, but when they exited, it was clear. Pettigrew was with them, Emi. We were totally correct." I sat there silently and listened to Dumbledore's calm voice. "Professor Lupin changed and then –"

"Changed? Arg! I can't think in here!" Nephiro did a glance around at everybody.

"Quick." She got to her feet and hastily started to the door. I stayed put until she beckoned me, glaring. I slid off the bed and followed her into the corridor.

"What do you mean by 'change'?" I asked again.

"Into a werewolf form. Seriously Emi, do you Defense homework every once and awhile and you might notice a few things." Once again, Nep made me feel completely stupid.

"Oh . . . OK . . . then what?"

"Well, everything went fast. Your dad turned into his Animagus form, then Peter did the same. The effin' rat got way . . . The bastard." She looked at me and smirked. My eyes were staring at the ceiling, and my jaw was wide open due to the fact I didn't have the mind capacity to close it. My head snapped down.

"What was his form?" She appeared puzzled for a moment.

"Oh. A dog. A black, shaggy dog –hey, Black!" I had begun to run. The memories of a painting I saw returned. The conversation I had with Dumbledore back in November played in my mind . . . 'I believe this was done by your father . . .'

We raced through the halls; all were empty and somewhat dark. Nephiro was close; almost on top of my heels the entire time. When I found what I sought, I came to a halt and she ran in to me.

"What the hell are you doing Black?" she questioned, slightly pissed off. I turned to face the wall and before me was a painting. It showed a dog, colored darkly, a stag, a rat, and awolf-like creature. I smirked at my father's artwork.

"It all makes sense now!" I exclaimed. The Whomping Willow was in the background, done in such detail that it seemed to be moving.

"I'm glad you've decided to look at paintings, but that doesn't help your father," she scoffed. I narrowed my eyes. "If we don't do anything soon, his soul will be sucked out by dementors."

"There's really nothing we can do, is there? I mean, I'm sure the room he's in is heavily guarded . . ." I was fully prepared to give up again.

"Relax, I have a plan," she told meas she took hold of my arm.

"Nephiro, what are you doing?" I felt a warming sensation go through my body making me feel . . . light. I could feel a breeze hit me and I was spinning in a sand storm. "Nephiro!" I screamed. I fell to the ground almost instantly. My mouth had sand in it, and I know I was covered in it.

"I told you to relax, Emi," she said, brushing off the small amount of sand she had on her.

"What the hell?" I heard a male voice cry from behind me; it kind of croaked. I whipped around to see a dirty looking man watching us. His hair and beard were long and his striped clothes were ripped and were so gross that it was almost one color. He was skinny and nothing like I imagined. But despite the fact he was caught, Sirius Black's blue eyes glowed.

"Fuck guards," Nephiro muttered.

"Who are you girls?" he answered, backing away. I frowned and took a step toward him.

"My name is Emily Anne Black. This is Nephiro Miketsu. And if you keep backing up you'll go out the window." He stopped and gaped at me. "We're here to rescue you."

"Emily . . . Emi?" he murmured. Suddenly he leaped forward and flung his arms around me. His reaction surprised me and even though I've been waiting for this moment, I wasn't enjoying it. He smelled pretty bad. When he finally pulled away he was smiling. "I thought you were dead!" I didn't say anything. I just stared at him. "Oh Merlin, you look so much like your mum." He brushed a piece of hair out of my face. "It's absolutely amazing . . . " I had to grin. It sounded so much better coming from him.

"We'll find Peter. We have to . . ." I managed to say. "You'll be free and Zandyr and I and you, we could live like a real family . . ." I knew it was wishful thinking, but I still let a tear out.

"Yes, a family. I promise you." He wiped my tear away and hugged me again. Nephiro cleared her throat and he stood up.

"I'm sorry to wreak this wonderful moment, but Potty is at the window." I saw Potter's head floating next to the window, moving up and down; I could see the feathers of the hippogriff. My dad ran to the glass and tried to open it.

"Dammit! Locked . . ." he sighed.

"Stand back!" I heard Hermione yell from behind Harry. "_Alohomora_!" It sprang open.

"How –how -?" Sirius gaped. I wanted to know as well.

"Get on there's not much time. You've got to get out of here –the dementors are coming –Mcnaire's gone to get them," Harry explained quickly. Dad turned to me.

"I love you Emi. And the same goes for Alex. Tell him." And not a second later, he was out the window and gone.

"We better get going too, Emi. I'll explain things later," Nephiro said, reading the look in my eyes. And, without waiting for my reply, she grabbed my arm and I was sucked up again; this time I arrived in the middle of the forest.

"What the fuck is going on Miketsu? What was that and why are we here?!" I exclaimed, slightly angry and more than a little confused.

"We're here so we won't be overheard," she "answered." "And that was a little technique I picked up from my dear dad called the Sands of Illusion. It is a means of instant transportation."

"I thought you couldn't apparate inside Hogwarts grounds," I stated, kind of side tracked by this new skill of Nephiro. 'A way to get around Hogwarts unnoticed. How convenient. Now I know how she keeps popping up everywhere!'

"It's not apparating; it's the Sands of Illusions. It's a very hidden skill. I doubt anyone on this side of the World, apart from Dumbledore, even know it exists. You technically aren't supposed to use it anymore, not since these people took advantage of it to commit robberies. It's kinda outlawed back home but I'm not home so I don't care," she told me. "Oh, and before you ask, I'm not teaching you it."

"Dammit! I hate you."

"Yeah, I know, we have more important things to talk about now. Do you want to know what happened or not?" I glared at the Egyptian and nodded, grudgingly. "Ok. Then let me talk." 'Grr her!' "So, Peter ran off, in his little rat form. I ran after him and would have caught him except Lupin found me and he was slightly insane so I ch –" She cut off mid-syllable but recovered quickly. "Ran away. I ran away. Very quickly and Peter got away."

I eyed her questionably. The darkness kept me from being able to see her facial expression. 'Not that it'd do much. Nephiro acts very strangely sometimes. She's so messed up.' "You . . . ran away? Very quickly? You sure about that? It sounded like you were going to say something else. Care to share?"

"Come on Emi."

"Where are we going now?"

"To an empty classroom by the Infirmary. Then we're going to take you back to your sickbed," she said to me.

"But you never answered my question!"

"And I don't plan on doing so anytime in the foreseeable future. Now, we could sit here all night or we can go back before you're missed. I opt for choice number one bit if you want to stay here by yourself, by all means, do so. Don't let me stop you. But I'm going. Now."

"You know Nephiro. You really suck."

"So I have been told many times. Let's go."

She grabbed my arm and we were lifted in a breeze that seemed to come at her call. It was a nice feeling. And then we landed in a classroom that seemed empty enough. I looked over at her just in timeto see her being reformed by grains of sand. "Whoa . . . is that . . . how we look before we arrive?" I asked, amazed that such a thing can be accomplished.

"Yes, well, sort of. It is a spell kind of like an extended transfiguration, only in a scale not quite known. I, and you, by extension, are temporarily transfigured into sand, then blown to the destination and reformed. It's a lot more complicated seeing how it is a wand-less spell and performed entirely by a person's force of will. It takes the magic inherited in . . . certain people . . . and uses it to accomplish the goals of the person. McGonagall thinks she's something special with her little tabby cat magic trick but that's nothing compared to what I can do. One of these days . . ." She cut off and smiled her evil smile. "And that day is soon."

I gave her a sidelong glance before smiling too. Seeing a teacher get shown up by a student sounded fun. And I had no doubt Nep could do it. "We should get going back. Before we're missed, right?" I suggested, snapping her back to the present.

"Yeah. Right. Infirmary. Let's go." And she started for the door.

We got out in the hall and made it back to the Infirmary. But the door was locked. "Shit!" I yelled.

"Let's hope the happy helpers are doped up, shall we?" And for the fourth time that night, Nephiro used her trick.

"What was that?!" Potter yelled.

"You . . . can't . . . apparate . . . inside . . . Hogwarts . . ." Hermione stammered, looking like she was about to faint. Her whole world probably just came tumbling down when she saw us appear, along with everything she ever read in that stupid book, Hogwarts, A History.

"Nephiro, do you know what they are talking about?" I asked, smiling sweetly.

"No." She sniffed the air. "I think there's something in the air. Is that pot I smell? Drugs are bad, you know."

I giggled. "Yeah, they mess up your head and you're all pretty messed up already. "And with that, I returned to my bed, and Nephiro went back to her post at the end of my bed.

The door busted open and an enraged Snapoe, followed by Fudge entered. Snape was yelling about how Potter somehow helped Sirius Black escape. I didn't listen because I didn't care. That is, until Nephiro stood up. Snape and Fudge regarded her thoughtfully.

"Professor Snape, listen to yourself. It's pathetic. You're lying to yourself and to everyone else because you can't handle the truth. Just shut up. No one cares. You suck at life. Go wash your hair."

"Nephiro's right, Professor Snape. You're a liar and you don't want to admit that a bunch of 13-year old kids are right and you're not," I said in a sort of hiss.

Snape stood there, too mad to talk, and Fudge looked at Nep and I like we had two heads. Snape regained his tongue and took a step toward Nephiro.

"I wouldn't come near me, Snapoe. I have no qualms against using my skills against a teacher. Just ask my old teacher and head master," she warned, evilly.

"That is enough, Miss Miketsu. You and I spoke of this before. Now, Severus, go to sleep. You've had a hard day. All of you to bed now. Minister, I'll talk with you in the morning. Miss Miketsu, you and I have to have a word. Good night."

A/N: This isn't the end. There's still two more chapters. Wait. I'm not going to post them all at the same time.


	31. Proof, Disappointment, and Berlin

A/N: Errr... Still has help from Smack.

**Chapter 31: Proof, Disappointment, and Berlin**

_I sat in a garden alone, surrounded with flowers and exotic bushes. The air was crisp and clean but it felt wrong because it was too strong. The flower's scent and the untainted air were fake. I knew I was dreaming. One type of flower caught my eye. Baby blue irises. They looked exactly like those that sat on the kitchen counter in my previous dream. I leaned over to them and breathed in. 'The scent of my mum . . .' I thought._

_"Those remind me of you, Emily." I turned around and saw my mother. She wore a wide smile, and her hands were behind her back. Her eyes were closed, and herbrown hair was down and curled down a little past her shoulder. 'Absolutely beautiful.'_

_"Why?" I questioned, smiling back._

_"They're the same color as your eyes and are natural beauties, like you." I giggled and hugged her. Suddenly, I felt her body go tense and her eyes seemed to roll back into her head._

_"Mum?" I said, keeping my hold on her. "Mum?" Her body grew very heavy and I began to feel the pressure. I held on tighter, biting my lip and attempted to get some kind of movement from her. I could hear laughter. It was echoing in the small garden and was full of pride and accomplishment, though it was something strained, as if the person was forcing it. "Mummy? Come on! Wake up!" I lost my grip, and she fell to the ground, limp. Her mouth, which seconds before had a wonderful smile, was now wide open and the only parts of the eyes that showed was the whites._

_When I thought it couldn't get any worse, the laughter ceased and my mother's body began to decay. Her skin quickly turned black,herhair went flat, and the eye sockets were empty. All that was left was a dilapidated skeleton and adirty floral print dress. I screamed but nothing came out, it was like I was put on mute. I turned my back to the corpse, letting the tears fall down my cheeks as I covered my mouth._

o.O

I awoke with a start. Pomfrey wasn't in the room and everyone appeared to be sleeping still. Feeling icky, and angry, I decided that I needed a shower, since I hadn't had one in a while. It was still early so I made up my mind to escape the Infirmary and run back to the Gryffindor tower to take care of my hygiene needs before the "rush." The images of my dream kept comingback to me, and I tried hard to make them stop. I didn't have any desire to mingle this morning so I did what I had to do and left the tower with the intention of going to breakfast. It was my intention. Remember that.

"Emi! Good morning! I was just going to go check on you," Nephiro greeted, popping around a corner.

"You know, I really wish you'd stop doing that. Now that I . . . know what you're capable of, I'm not sure I feel safe," I told her. She smiled in reply. "Why are you so cheerful this morning? Did my brother give you something shiny?"

She glared. "Remember how you just said you don't feel safe? Well, keep saying things like that and you won't be." With that, she turned away. "Oh second thought, I don't give a shit how you're doing. Sorry for thinking I cared." And she started walking away. I sighed, immediately feeling bad for snapping at her.

Something in the way she reacted struck me as not quite normal Nephiro behavior. "Wait, I'm sorry Nephiro. I'm having a rough morning. I've been having bad dreams again."

Nephiro turned around and gave me a very direct look. It made me uncomfortable. Finally, she nodded to herself. "All right. It's already forgotten. Come on, let's go to breakfast." 'She is a strange duck . . .'

"Right . . ." I answered and I put on a fake grin, erasing my mum's dead body out of my head. We walked down to the Great Hall silently, but for some reason it was a good silence. I felt happy around Nep now. It was weird how we ended up friends when at one point we tried to kill each other.

"Emi, gimme a second, I'll meet you in there," she said as we approached the giant doors. More odd behavior, but I let it slide.

"Alright." I opened the door without looking back at her. The few people that were at the tables glanced at me, but went back to their breakfast, except one person: Draco. A smile was spread across his face and his gray eyes were lit up like Christmas lights.

"Emi!" he cried happily, like Nephiro did earlier. He got to his feet and practically ran to me. The hug was so hard and forceful that it took my breath away temporarily. "I haven't seen you in like three days!" Draco kissed my cheek and continued to hug me. I felt safe in his arms, and for a brief moment it seemed like something in my life was right.

"Nice to see you too . . ." Just as I said that, gasps and shrieks of terror erupted from the room. Draco seemed suddenly tense.

"Uh . . . uh . . ."

"Draco, honey, what's wrong?" I let go of him and turned around. Loping toward us was a full-grown lioness. It was beautiful and somehow . . . familiar. It gave us a glance, stared at Draco, and roared. He nearly wet himself.

We didn't hold its interest very long. After effectively scarring the populace, it rotated and headed for the faculty table. It walked past the still shocked teachers and paused by McGonagall. The teacher and the lioness' eyes locked for a moment before it showed its teeth and then proceeded. It stopped next to Dumbledore, who had a cross between anger and amusement on his face. He hesitantly pet its neck and it purred happily. I watched, partly amazed, and feeling sort of stupid. I feel that I should know this strange creature.

"Sorry about that. This is. . . my pet lion. She's quite harmless. Say hi to the nice people, Berlin," he said. The lioness, which had stopped purring and was now glaring at the head master, roared in response.

"Berlin?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, I like Germany," he answered.

"And Egypt, too, apparently," she said.

"No. Egypt is nice, but there's too much sand." I had to laugh at Dumbledore's last comment. He was an odd man, probably going more senile every minute.

"Berlin" let out another roar, this one more fiercely; I jumped in response. The lioness gracefully jumped onto the staff table, slinking down into a pounce position. She fixed her round amber eyes on me and I didn't feel scared. Well, that was until she leaped down and raced toward me. I screamed and covered my head with my arms. Someone grappled me and pushed me to the side and we toppled to the floor. Opening my eyes again, I noticed Draco lying on top of me and the end of the lion's tail disappear out the door.

My attention went back to professors; McGonagall has gone very pale, Dumbledore was holding back something –whether it was laughter or rage I couldn't tell, Snape wore a dazed look in his eyes and Hagrid was cowering in the corner muttering to himself.

Draco's sudden shift in weight brought me back to my current situation. 'A lion almost ran me over . . . And Draco's on top of me," I thought, taking no action to remove him.

"Well, now, don't you two look comfy," Nephiro's voice said. "God, Emi, I leave for one second and you're already on the floor with someone. I can't take you anywhere!" I felt my cheeks go red and Draco rolled off me quickly. He sort of had an embarrassed but scared expression on his face, along with the brilliant pink skin he just acquired. It was kind of cute. Nephiro cleared her throat and I sprang to my feet.

"Nep! You just missed the –" I began.

"Lion. Yeah, I know, I saw it leaving the school." She sighed. "I miss Egypt." I gave her a puzzled glance. "I have a better idea. Screw breakfast. Come." She turned around and exited the Hall. I shrugged when Draco questioned it and followed her. Nephiro was half way down the corridor when I spotted her. She kept walking even after I call out to her.

"Seriously, Emi," she said after I loomed close. "When I say 'come' I don't mean leave in 30 seconds." I wanted to slap her but past experiences told me not to.

"Where are we going?"

"Our favorite professor's office."

"Err . . . Snape's not there."

She gave me a sidelong glance that said volumes. "I was referring to Lupin, you know your extra credit friend?" Slapping urge still there . . .

"Why may I ask? We have all ourinformation now," I replied.

"To pay our respects. He's resigning," she said without a hint of humor. I gave it a second so this new information could sink into my brain.

"He's what?" I asked, knowing I didn't want to know. I had just started liking Lupin and he goes and pulls a stunt like this. Someone needs to teach him some manners. "That's royally unfair . . ."

"Well, he doesn't have a choice. It's only a matter of time before people start sending complaints in and coming to the gate with pitchforks. He IS a werewolf, after all," she responded matter-of-factly. Her new tone reminded me of Hermione when she corrected me in Charms. "It's sad but there's nothing we can do."

We reached the office door and noticed it was slightly a jar; neither of us seemed to want to push it open. The sounds of packing were drifting our way and I felt sadness in my stomach . . . or maybe that was hunger. 'Royally unfair. . .' I contemplated. Nep gave a small sigh and gently pushed it open.

Professor Lupin was sitting at his desk, placing things in a box. He didn't even notice that we were standing there. His face had small cuts and he appeared very haggard.

"Professor Lupin?" I said quietly.

"Yes. Oh, Emi. Nephiro. Nice to see you." He sounded distracted and unlike himself.

We glanced at each other and I noticed Nephiro looked a little guilty. "Err . . . We heard you resigned and, well, I, at least, wanted to say sorry about . . . that. . . and . . . err . . . stuff. You are kinda cool so it sucks that you're leaving," Nephiro said. I wanted to hug her now. It's probably the nicest thing I've ever heard come out of her mouth and it clearly caused her pain.

"Really Professor. You're the best teacher here. I actually passed this course without cheating and stayed awake . . . well, most of the time . . . you can't leave –it's unfair to the students. Think of the students!"

"I am thinking of the students. And their parents that will want my job, if not my head. You two don't understand. I'm a werewolf –a monster! –that's not the best way to earn friends," he said.

"If you put it that way –" I started.

"Thanks for the support it doesn't matter. I'm quitting. I have to."

"No, _you_ don't understand, Professor. Don't think I can't relate to the monster thing. You forgot my heritage," Nephiro replied. I was somewhat lost but he obviously got it.

"It's a slightly different situation."

"True, but don't say I don't understand."

"Um . . . I don't know what you two are talking about but I'm going to miss you, Lupin. I'll never see you again," I cried. I wasastonished that I even said those words out loud.

"Sure you will. You'll be seeing me a lot. I'm your godfather. You'll be living with me from now on." My jaw dropped, not in surprise but in horror. 'I am doomed. I can barely stand sitting in a classroom with him, how am I supposed to live with him? Happy family? How can it be a happy family if I live with a creepy werewolf? Liars! All of them!' I silently screamed. 'Remember howyour aunt wants to kill you?' My thoughts turned to the letter I received weeks beforehand and I shuddered. 'Yeah . . . OK. I guess I could live . . . Anything is better than Mildred.'

"Are you serious?" I inquired breathlessly. He nodded. I got that strange hugging sensation again, and I pulled Nephiro into a hug. "I'm free!"

"Err . . . super? Could ya let me go now before I kill you? Yeah. Thanks." I let go and smiled. Even though Lupin scares me in a non-scary way, it's way better than the living with that rotten, abusive wretch. Free! Freefreefree! Lupin was staring down at desk.

"Harry is coming . . ." he told us, not sounding too thrilled. We gave him ou**r** "We're sorry" faces and sat down on one of the desks.

Harry walked into the room, seeming confused. He asked the same questions we did, and then some. I, on the other hand, managed to get Miketsu to play patty-cake with me. Ya know, to entertain us while Potty-boy was present. It was mildly amusing. I didn't pay any attention to him, so when Nephiro started talking again, I was surprised.

"Did Potty-boy leave?" I asked.

"Yes, the stupid twit. At least we have proof," she muttered angrily. I raised an eyebrow. 'What is she talking about?' "We have proof . . . We have proof!!!"

"What are you talking about" I demanded.

"The omninoculars! I used them when I was out last night! It won't have everything, but it should show Pettigrew!" she explained, nearly bouncing with excitement.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go get them!" I ordered, and surprisingly she listened. Nephiro left me alone with my new guardian.

"So . . . I live in a flat in the Czech Republic. Prague to be exact," he informed me, watching a bird fly past the window.

"Why Prague?"

"Why not?" he answered. There was a moment of silence until he continued. "You'll be riding the Hogwarts Express back to London, I'll pick you up there." Lupin closed his last suitcase. I glanced around the nearly empty room. It was depressing.

"I should be going . . ." he murmured, just as Nephiro burst back in.

"I found them!" she exclaimed, placing what might have been my omninoculars on a desk.

"Uh . . . Nephiro, parts of them are . . . missing. And there are bite marks on them. Why are there bite marks on my omninoculars?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"How else was I supposed to carry them?" she responded.

"Gee, I don't know. With your HANDS!!!" I cracked.HANHANjfhsfjkh

"Err . . . well . . ." She looked uncomfortable and placed a hand behind her head. A look of understanding seized Lupin's face, but I didn't bother to think about it. 'Today sucks.' "That was how I was carrying them until, err, I dropped them and you**r** dad took them. Weird stuff happened. I'll get them fixed for you. Promise." She sounded almost nervous.

"It doesn't matter Miketsu! That'd wipe outall the saved stuff." She stayed quiet. I sat down again and started to bang my head against the table. "Why –does –every –thing –we –do –get –screwed –up!?!?" I yelled in between bangs. I wanted to rip someone's head off.

"Calm down Emi!" Lupin said, trying to stop me from damaging my head further.

"Noo! Today has sucked! And the last hope of proof is broken. Everything we have done has led up to this and it's been pointless!!!" Nephiro covered my mouth.

"Quiet, you'll wake up all of China," she whispered and released me; I continued ranting as if she had never spoken.

"I mean, how would you feel? Huh? What if you worked you ass off all year long to teach students and they all failed the exam? Wouldn't you be a WEE BIT PISSED!?" Nephiro ushered me out of the classroom.

"Bye Professor, see you in London."

A/N: Nephiro is tres cool. Love her... on second thought... don't.


	32. Heartbreak Express

A/N: I am sooo sorry! I didn't realize I never posted the last chapter! And it wasn't until now that I realized Chapter 31 wasn't posted right. Please don't hurt me!!!

Chapter 32: Heartbreak Express 

Excitement rose up in the air as everyone boarded the Hogwarts Express. Nephiro, Lily, Rilee and I occupied one compartment and were quite content with that.

We spoke of our exams and favorites, and of course how strange it is that another Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is gone. Dumb stuff in general. All except the capture and miraculous escape of Sirius Black. I thought it best to keep him out of the conversation since it made me sad. The fiasco with the omninoculars still pissed me off.

"If you three will excuse me for a bit, I have some unimportant things to tidy up before we arrive in London," Nephiro told us. We snickered for a couple for seconds before going into a silence. I know she was going to go see either Zandyr or Cedric . . . possibly both. I stared out the window and watched the green blurs go by, Rilee listened to a Discman and appeared to be in deep thought, and Lily was reading some vampire book. It was a sort of lonely feeling . . .

o.O

(Nephiro's POV)

I left the car and went in search of Zandyr and Cedric. I'm not one of those people who feels bad about breaking up with people. 'Especially since I'm not technically dating them,' I thought with a wry grin. Still, I will kind of miss them. But the school year was over and I was going back to my only love. My Lucien.

I wasn't sure where they were so I just wandered in search of either. I didn't care who I found first. I popped my head in and found Cedric sitting with some of his Hufflepuff friends, Cho was not among them. I entered the car and walked over to Cedric. He smiled and his friends stared at me.Nothing I wasn't used to.

"Cedric? Could I talk to you for a moment?" I asked. His friends snickered.

"Of course." He got up and we went out into the hall. "So, what's up?"

I felt kind of bad doing this. Cedric was an overall nice guy and he doesn't annoy me quite as much as Zandyr. But it can't last and I have to end it. Lord knows he won't. 'But I can let him down easy.'

"We need to break up. I like you and all but it has to end now. It's been fun," I answered, giving him a quick kiss. "I'll see you around." I walked off with the intention of finding Zandyr. Cedric was the easy part. Zandyr'll put up a fight.

"Can I ask you why?" he called after me. 'Guess I spoke too soon.'

"Sure. There's no real reason. It's just, I'm going home and I live on a whole other continent and all. So, I just think its time. We can still 'hang out' just not date," I replied. He cracked a grin.

"All right. You know, I do like you. A lot."

"You were fun." I walked off before he could respond.

It took me awhile to find Zandyr. He was on the other side of the train, the stupid idiot. And, he was sitting with Oliver and that bitch Sweets. 'Grr.' I drifted over to him and told him that I needed to talk to him, just like with Cedric. 'It's easier to stick with a script.' We went into the hallway and he tried to kiss me. I turned away.

"What's wrong?" he asked, confused.

"We need to break up," I answered simply.

"WHAT?! WHY?!" he exclaimed, shocking me by the intensity of his voice. A few people looked out of their cars.

"It's just not going any where, Zandyr," I replied quietly.

"What do you mean? You seemed happy yesterday! I thinks it's going great!" he yelled. "What do you want from me? What can I do to keep you with me?"

"Nothing. There's absolutely nothing you can do to keep me. I'm not happy. I mean the meaningless make-outs only go so far, I want something more in a relationship, you know?" I answered. 'Like meaningless sex,' I thought to myself. 'Hee hee.'

"They weren't meaningless to me! I love you, Nephiro! Really, I do!"

"That right there bothers me. You don't love me, Zandyr. If you did, you'd understand how I feel and leave me alone."

"But I can't! I don't know what I'll do without you!" he cried.

"You'll live! God, you make me feel like I'm tied down. You're too attached to me. You care way too much," I snapped. "It's creepy."

"So what? You'd rather have me not care? Is that what you need? Someone who doesn't give a shit if you're even alive? Huh, Nephiro? Is that it?!" He looked and sounded really hurt and angry.

"No, you care too much," I told him. "Look, nothing you say will change my mind. It's over." He looked completely destroyed. I took pity on him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It was fun while it lasted. You're a great guy, just not for me. I'm sorry," I added softly, turning to go.

"Wait," he called, grabbing me arm. "Are you telling me these last nine months meant nothing to you?"

"They were pleasant. I enjoyed my time with you."

"Then why?! I don't get it, Nep!" What, is there someone else? Have you been cheating on me?! Is that what this is really about?!" It took all my self control not to just burst out laughing.

"Zandyr, you never even asked me out!" I yelled back. "I have to go. Can we part as friends, at least?"

"I don't want to be just a friend, Nephiro! I love you! Don't you get that?!"

"And I don't feel the same!"

With that, I pulled my arm away from him and stalked back to my car, leaving Zandyr alone in the hall. 'Well, I broke two people's hearts today. I'd say it was a pretty productive day.' Emi, Lily and Rilee looked up as I entered.

"That was quick. Did the other walk by and interrupt?" Lily taunted.

"It wouldn't have mattered. I cast a charm on the two of them to keep them oblivious to the fact that I'm with the other. How else do you think I kept them from knowing?" Lily nodded her head as though impressed. "Though, now I guess it has no use, I was breaking up with them," I replied, not taking the bait.

"Oh man! How'd they take it?" Emi asked.

"Cedric was fine. He likes me and all but he can take it. Zandyr's probably crying in a corner by now. I think he's going to start stalking me," I answered.

"Sometimes, I think I'm psychic," Emi said smiling.

"Don't worry, you're not." She stuck her tongue out at me and everyone went back to whatever it was they were doing prior to my return. I sat there and stared out the window, thinking of home.

In what seemed like no time at all, the train stopped. Black and I were arguing about whether or not Harry and Ron were both gay or not. "I'm telling you, Nephiro, it's a mutual attraction!" Emi started.

"But Ron hit on me!" I replied.

"Harry has hit on both of us but that doesn't change the fact that –" I stopped listening as I saw three familiar heads in the crowd.

"DADDY! LUCIEN! ADAM!!! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" I yelled, running to them.

o.O

(Emi's POV)

I was trying to explain to Nephiro why Harry and Ron have to both be gay when she shrieked and ran into the crowd. I followed her, being intrigued by this twist, and stopped dead in my tracks. There were three guys there, all crowded around Nephiro. One was obviously her father. He looked young and was pretty attractive, but not my style. The one that was currently holding Nephiro was taller than her dad, and had pure white hair spiked up. He was lean but fit. And he was probably one of the hottest guys I've even seen. 'Damn her!' Standing next to the couple, looking slightly annoyed and more than a little jealous was another guy, closer to my age than the "god," with blue hair that was in the process of being growing out. 'Damn he's hot! Freakin' Nephiro. Doesn't tell me about her hot friends. Grr her!'

Nephiro pulled away from the white-haired guy and hugged the other two. "I thought you were going to come home pregnant, Phiro. Glad to see you couldn't find a willing father," the dark haired guy said. He had an accent like Nephiro's.

"Oh, I found one. I just decided to adopt instead," she smiled. "Dad, Lucien, Adam. Meet my adopted daughter, Emi. Isn't she sweet?" she added.

"Uh . . . hi?" I said, feeling kind of weird.

"It's OK Emi. They're nice. They won't bite. Not you anyway," Nephiro said, winking at the white-haired guy.

"Nice, Phiro, nice," he dad said dryly. "I'm Xanu, Nephiro's dad. It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand.

"I'm Lucien," the white-haired guy said. He had a strong French accent. 'Aw man . . . accent . . . hotness . . .' I feel like I'd start twitching. It was that or drooling. "And this is my little brother, Adam." The blue-haired boy gave a quick unfriendly smile before going back to staring at the ground by his feet.

"I'm Emi . . ." I replied. I spotted Zandyr and pointed at him. "And that's Nephiro new puppy; my brother Zandyr." Nephiro glared at me and I grinned.

"He's not my puppy," she said in a low growl.

"Oh, hey! Remus!**"** Xanu abruptly cried. I saw Lupin, who was a couple of meters away, turn around and spotted us; his smile was disturbing.

"Oi! Xanu! Long time no see. How ya been?" 'Blahblahblah!' Nephiro suddenly clutched my arm and ducked behind me. I smirked, knowing she was hiding from the approaching Cedric. Cedric laughed thinking she was joking and hugged her.

"See ya next year, Miketsu," he said lovingly. Nephiro looked mortified and I had to cover up my laugh.

"Yes . . . Diggory. Next year." She gave him a pat on the back and he, in return, planted a firm kiss on her lips, which I'm sure was must unexpected. She let out a surprised squeal and I could hear a growl coming from Lucien and Adam. At first, I thought she was going to slap him, but Cedric just turned and walked away, leaving Nep pissed off.

"I WAS RIGHT!" Everyone jumped. Zandyr was standing near-by, red-faced with anger. "You lied!" He pointed a finger at Nephiro. "You told me there was no else! But you've been sneaking around with a _Hufflepuff_!" he bellowed. I felt sort of embarrassed by his accusations and the fact thatit was so loud.

"No Zandyr, you've got it hujkkljdkljakdjksjd

t wrong –"

"How long? Have you been cheating on me the whole time?! You –" Zandyr was cut off by a smooth uppercut to the jaw –delivered by me. I was angered by him. He was an irrational punk who didn't even give Nep the chance to reply. I hate people like that. He stumbled back a few steps, and I shook my hand out. 'Ow. That hurt!' I thought.

"Emi!" he yelled, rubbing his jaw. "You bitch!" I lost it. He deserved what he got.

"Alexander Black, oh I mean _Glasgo_, don't you ever, EVER talk about Nephiro you dumbass." I belted. "You know of nothing, and all you're doing is making a fool out of yourself. So before you decide to go off, make sure you have your facts straight! And never call me that again!"

"And for the last time, Zandyr, there was nothing there to cheat on!" Nephiro yelled, interfering. "Get out of my life!"

"Nephiro . . . I . . ." he started but was intercepted by not one, but two guys, who moved in front of him.

"Get the fuck away from my fiancée!" Lucien warned. Adam snickered. 'FIANCEE?! How much is Nephiro not telling me?!' Then I remembered a moment from the early days of our "friendship." 'That ring she showed me when I asked her about Zandyr... it was an engagement ring?' Zandyr's eyes widened but he walked away.

"Lucien. . . I –" He put a finger to her lips.

"Shh. . . I don't want to know right now. I told you –until you put that ring on your finger what you do is your concern. It's around your neck, not your finger. I . . . just wasn't prepared for this I guess," he told her. I was shocked. 'Where did this guy come from? Are there more of him?'

"Lucien, I love you. You know that." They kissed and Adam growled.

"Why does everyone get to make-out with Nephiro but me?" I heard him mumble. I gave him a glance and narrowed my eyes. Nephiro and Lucien separated and she hugged me.

"Thanks for sticking up for me, Emi," she said. "But if you ever try that on me, I'll kill you."

"Ok . . ." 'Weird crazy person. Why do I hang out with her again?'

Two throats were cleared and the Remus looked at me. "We really should be going Emi . . . I need to get home and feed the . . . dog," he said.

"And I have to get Adam back to his mother, Phiro. I hate to break up all the fun but . . ." Nephiro's dad added.

"OK, dad. We can go. See ya around, Black."

"Bye, Miketsu. Nice meeting you Lucien, Adam, Mr. Miketsu."

They waved and then we went our separate ways.

"So, who taught that punch, Emi?" Remus asked. I grinned in response. 'Wouldn't he like to know?'

**The End**

A/N: YaY! dance around in circles Sequel will be up shortly.


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